Pete Taylor
Encyclopedia
Pete Taylor was a radio
and television
sportscaster
who worked for radio station KRNT and television station KCCI
in Des Moines, Iowa
. Taylor also served as the play-by-play announcer for Iowa State University
football and men's basketball.
)-TV's sports director. Taylor was chosen Iowa Sportscaster of the Year four times during his career as the director of Des Moines' top-rated news telecast from 1969-90. In 1984, Iowa State signed a contract for exclusive broadcast rights for all sporting events with Clear Channel Communications
. Taylor was picked alongside color man and partner Eric Heft, forming the broadcast tandem that spanned 24 years in basketball and 19 years in football.
Taylor worked 22 years as sports director at KCCI-TV in Des Moines prior to joining the Iowa State staff. In 1990, Taylor left KCCI
to work full-time at Iowa State as director of athletic fundraising. He later was promoted to associate athletic director, serving as the department's liaison with men's basketball
, football
, the car program and special projects. Taylor also devoted time to Cyclone Club activities, including outings and banquets, and oversaw media relations and radio and television contracts.
In all, Taylor's contributions to Iowa State spanned four decades. In addition to his administrative and radio play-by-play duties, he also hosted the football coaches' TV Show, Cyclone Replay Show and radio call-in shows for both football and men's basketball.
, where he participated in baseball. He was known as a fan of funk
and hip-hop music. He was survived by his mother Modesta, daughter Jill, son David and grandchildren Charlie, Lucy, Sam and Henry. He married his high school sweetheart (the former Susan Williams) in 1966 when they were students at University of Iowa in Iowa City, IA.
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
and television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
sportscaster
Sportscaster
In sports broadcasting, a commentator gives a running commentary of a game or event in real time, usually during a live broadcast. The comments are normally a voiceover, with the sounds of the action and spectators also heard in the background. In the case of television commentary, the commentator...
who worked for radio station KRNT and television station KCCI
KCCI
KCCI is a television station that broadcasts on channel 8 in Des Moines, Iowa. It is affiliated with the CBS television network and serves most of central Iowa. Owned by Hearst Television, KCCI has studios in downtown Des Moines. The station's transmitter is located in Alleman, Iowa, about midway...
in Des Moines, Iowa
Des Moines, Iowa
Des Moines is the capital and the most populous city in the US state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small portion of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines which was shortened to "Des Moines" in 1857...
. Taylor also served as the play-by-play announcer for Iowa State University
Iowa State University
Iowa State University of Science and Technology, more commonly known as Iowa State University , is a public land-grant and space-grant research university located in Ames, Iowa, United States. Iowa State has produced astronauts, scientists, and Nobel and Pulitzer Prize winners, along with a host of...
football and men's basketball.
The Voice of the Cyclones
Taylor began his association with Iowa State in 1970, covering Cyclone events for KRNT radio when he was KRNT (now KCCIKCCI
KCCI is a television station that broadcasts on channel 8 in Des Moines, Iowa. It is affiliated with the CBS television network and serves most of central Iowa. Owned by Hearst Television, KCCI has studios in downtown Des Moines. The station's transmitter is located in Alleman, Iowa, about midway...
)-TV's sports director. Taylor was chosen Iowa Sportscaster of the Year four times during his career as the director of Des Moines' top-rated news telecast from 1969-90. In 1984, Iowa State signed a contract for exclusive broadcast rights for all sporting events with Clear Channel Communications
Clear Channel Communications
Clear Channel Communications, Inc. is an American media conglomerate company headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. It was founded in 1972 by Lowry Mays and Red McCombs, and was taken private by Bain Capital LLC and Thomas H. Lee Partners LP in a leveraged buyout in 2008...
. Taylor was picked alongside color man and partner Eric Heft, forming the broadcast tandem that spanned 24 years in basketball and 19 years in football.
Taylor worked 22 years as sports director at KCCI-TV in Des Moines prior to joining the Iowa State staff. In 1990, Taylor left KCCI
KCCI
KCCI is a television station that broadcasts on channel 8 in Des Moines, Iowa. It is affiliated with the CBS television network and serves most of central Iowa. Owned by Hearst Television, KCCI has studios in downtown Des Moines. The station's transmitter is located in Alleman, Iowa, about midway...
to work full-time at Iowa State as director of athletic fundraising. He later was promoted to associate athletic director, serving as the department's liaison with men's basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
, football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
, the car program and special projects. Taylor also devoted time to Cyclone Club activities, including outings and banquets, and oversaw media relations and radio and television contracts.
In all, Taylor's contributions to Iowa State spanned four decades. In addition to his administrative and radio play-by-play duties, he also hosted the football coaches' TV Show, Cyclone Replay Show and radio call-in shows for both football and men's basketball.
Death
Taylor, who was in his 33rd season as the radio play-by-play "Voice of the Cyclones," died Wednesday March 5, 2003 at University Hospitals in Iowa City after a brain hemorrhage following surgery to treat complications from a stroke. He was 57.Personal
Taylor was a 1967 graduate of the University of IowaUniversity of Iowa
The University of Iowa is a public state-supported research university located in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. It is the oldest public university in the state. The university is organized into eleven colleges granting undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees...
, where he participated in baseball. He was known as a fan of funk
Funk
Funk is a music genre that originated in the mid-late 1960s when African American musicians blended soul music, jazz and R&B into a rhythmic, danceable new form of music. Funk de-emphasizes melody and harmony and brings a strong rhythmic groove of electric bass and drums to the foreground...
and hip-hop music. He was survived by his mother Modesta, daughter Jill, son David and grandchildren Charlie, Lucy, Sam and Henry. He married his high school sweetheart (the former Susan Williams) in 1966 when they were students at University of Iowa in Iowa City, IA.