Bob Brooks, the legendary Iowa broadcaster, died on June 25 at age 89.

Brooks began his career in 1943, working for WSUI before graduating from Franklin High School in Cedar Rapids in 1944. A University of Iowa graduate, Brooks stuck around the Cedar Rapids area, covering everything from prep sports to Iowa football and even the Olympics.

He also had long stints with KCRG (1949-1976), KHAK (1977-2000), and KMRY from 2000 up until his illness.

Brooks saw the majority of Iowa football history and was also a mainstay on the basketball court. In addition, he also covered the Cedar Rapids Kernels and spent a large portion of his life around high-school athletics.

A simply incredible person, Brooks covered six Rose Bowls and was a 10-time winner of the Iowa Sportscaster of the Year award. The press box at Kingston Stadium in Cedar Rapids is named after him, and his family still resides in the metro area.

He’s also a member of the College Football Hall of Fame and won the Chris Schenkel Award from the National College Football Foundation, in addition to many other honors.

“Bob was a consummate professional in every way,” current Iowa play-by-play announcer Gary Dolphin said in a release. “From shirt and tie to his famous hats. Bob was the most straightforward and fair play-by-play broadcaster I ever met. He always found a silver lining in Iowa’s performance and the opponent’s. Win or lose.”

It’s hard to quantify the effect Brooks had on so many people involved with sports in eastern Iowa. After news of his passing spread, a number of Iowa media personalities shared their professional memories of him, but to say his impact came just to those who worked with him would simply not be true.

Brooks worked with all levels of athletes and so many people had a memory of him — even if it was a brief, fleeting one — they could immediately recall.

If you do a quick search, the words “professional” and “gentleman” and “a friend” come up over and over again. He carried himself in a way that few people ever will, and the aura of respect seemed to flow from him.

Brooks was often the first person to shoot a question to Iowa head football coach Kirk Ferentz in his press conferences, and every athlete he interviewed understood he was a person to be respected.

“Bob was a top-notch professional,” Iowa head football coach Kirk Ferentz said in a release. “He was a warm, genuine human being who truly loved his work and the people he worked with. To have a friendship with him made the last 17 years of my life better.”

Few people will ever be as universally beloved as Brooks was, and he — nor his giant tape recorder — will ever be forgotten.

Brooks is survived by his wife, Susie, and son Rob as well as grandsons Peter and Blair.