Longtime broadcaster Bob Carpenter is preparing to retire after more than four decades in sports media, but he says the journey that took him to Major League Baseball began in Tulsa.
Tulsa Roots and Early Breaks
Carpenter, who has spent the past 19 years as the television voice of the Washington Nationals, first arrived in Tulsa in 1976 as a 23-year-old radio announcer for the Tulsa Oilers baseball team, then the St. Louis Cardinals’ Triple-A affiliate.
“I thought I was hot stuff,” Carpenter said. “I had a minor league baseball job. Little did I know, the stadium was falling down and the team was about to leave town. I’m really glad I stayed in because it led to some of the things with the Roughnecks and Channel 8 and Tulsa Cable.”
Just months after the Oilers left, Carpenter met Debbie, the woman who would become his wife. The couple has been married for 46 years.
Carpenter went on to call games for the Tulsa Roughnecks and worked in television at KTUL-TV.
A Career on the National Stage
His big break came in the early 1980s when USA Network hired him for national assignments. That launched a career that included broadcasting college football, golf, soccer, tennis and baseball alongside some of the biggest names in sports.
He has called two World Cups in soccer, the U.S. Open Tennis Championships, and the Masters three times.
“I’ve been so blessed,” Carpenter said. “The good Lord has been very good to me, and I’ve had a great wife and a great family to kind of guide me through this whole journey.”
Among his career highlights: calling seven Major League no-hitters, working with Hall of Fame broadcasters such as Jack Buck and Tim McCarver, and announcing the Nationals’ 2019 World Series championship.
Baseball, Carpenter said, has always been his greatest love. Growing up in St. Louis, he spent his teenage years ushering at Cardinals games and imitating broadcasters from the stands.
“I would stand on the ramps out in the outfield during my break and announce the game out loud to myself, pretending I was Jack Buck,” he said. “Within ten years of that time, I would be working next to Jack, one of the top announcers of all time.”
Looking Ahead to Retirement
Now, Carpenter plans to trade road trips for time at home. His children and grandchildren live in Tulsa, and he said he’s looking forward to family life and a little golf.
“The first thing I need to do is get some golf lessons, because my game is suffering a little bit right now,” he said. “But full-time grandpa.”
Carpenter’s final broadcast with the Nationals is set for Sept. 28, a Sunday afternoon home game in Washington, D.C. The team will honor him a day earlier with “See You Later Day,” named after his signature home run call.