Rod Trongard
Encyclopedia
Rod Trongard was a Minnesota
-based sports broadcaster on both radio and television in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area for more than fifty years.
as well as the Minneapolis Lakers (preceding Chick Hearn
until the Lakers moved to Los Angeles
). Trongard also called University of Minnesota
football and basketball.
He joined KSTP in 1968, where he broadcast Minnesota Pipers basketball, produced Minnesota Vikings
football and Minnesota North Stars
hockey broadcasts, and did player and coach interviews. He also hosted Minnesota Gopher football coach Cal Stoll’s show on KSTP TV. He also was the public address announcer for the Minnesota Fighting Saints (WHA) hockey team and the Minnesota Kicks (NASL) soccer team.
for the American Wrestling Association
(AWA) professional wrestling promotion
throughout the 1980s, calling matches involving the likes of Hulk Hogan
, Nick Bockwinkel
, Bobby Heenan
, Verne Gagne
, The Road Warriors
, Shawn Michaels
and many others. Trongard's voice was featured on the AWA's weekly ESPN
broadcasts, reaching millions of homes around the world. His signature phrase was "From coast to coast, continent to continent, and border to border". During broadcasts, he often included city names in the phrase, signifying the broad reach of wrestling and the AWA's broadcasts at the time. Trongard called matches alongside fellow commentators Lord James Blears and Lee Marshall.
Trongard left the AWA in 1988 for a brief stint in the World Wrestling Federation
(WWF), before retiring from the wrestling scene in early 1989. While in the WWF, he performed commentary alongside "Superstar" Billy Graham, Lord Alfred Hayes, and Sean Mooney
.
in June 2005.
Trongard was inducted into the Pavek Museum of Broadcasting
Hall of Fame in 2003.
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
-based sports broadcaster on both radio and television in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area for more than fifty years.
Early career
Trongard's career began in 1953 at KXRA Alexandria, followed by positions at KSDN Aberdeen, South Dakota, and KDIO Ortonville. He moved to the Twin Cities in 1959 as news director at WLOL. It was there than Trongard began his sports broadcasting career, calling basketball for the Minnesota MuskiesMinnesota Muskies
The Minnesota Muskies were a charter member of the American Basketball Association, born with the league's creation on February 2, 1967. L.P. Shields and Fred Jefferson bought in to create the franchise for $30,000...
as well as the Minneapolis Lakers (preceding Chick Hearn
Chick Hearn
Francis Dayle "Chick" Hearn was an American sportscaster. Known primarily as the long-time play-by-play announcer for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association, the legendary Hearn is remembered for his rapid fire, staccato broadcasting style, inventing colorful phrases such...
until the Lakers moved to Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
). Trongard also called University of Minnesota
University of Minnesota
The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities is a public research university located in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, United States. It is the oldest and largest part of the University of Minnesota system and has the fourth-largest main campus student body in the United States, with 52,557...
football and basketball.
He joined KSTP in 1968, where he broadcast Minnesota Pipers basketball, produced Minnesota Vikings
Minnesota Vikings
The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Vikings joined the National Football League as an expansion team in 1960...
football and Minnesota North Stars
Minnesota North Stars
The Minnesota North Stars were a professional ice hockey team in the National Hockey League for 26 seasons, from 1967 to 1993. The North Stars played their home games at the Met Center in Bloomington, and the team's colors for most of its history were green, yellow, gold and white...
hockey broadcasts, and did player and coach interviews. He also hosted Minnesota Gopher football coach Cal Stoll’s show on KSTP TV. He also was the public address announcer for the Minnesota Fighting Saints (WHA) hockey team and the Minnesota Kicks (NASL) soccer team.
Wrestling
Trongard was a commentatorSportscaster
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...
for the American Wrestling Association
American Wrestling Association
The American Wrestling Association was an American professional wrestling promotion based in Minneapolis, Minnesota that ran from 1960 to 1991. It was owned and founded by Verne Gagne and Wally Karbo...
(AWA) professional wrestling promotion
Professional wrestling promotion
A professional wrestling promotion is a company or business that regularly performs shows involving professional wrestling. Promotion also describes a role which entails management, advertising and logistics of running a wrestling event...
throughout the 1980s, calling matches involving the likes of Hulk Hogan
Hulk Hogan
Terrance Gene "Terry" Bollea , better known by his ring name Hulk Hogan, is an American Semi-retired professional wrestler, actor, television personality, and musician currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling ....
, Nick Bockwinkel
Nick Bockwinkel
Nicholas Warren Francis "Nick" Bockwinkel is a retired American professional wrestler. He mainly competed in the American Wrestling Association in the United States...
, Bobby Heenan
Bobby Heenan
Raymond Louis "Ray" Heenan , better known as Bobby "The Brain" Heenan , is a former American professional wrestling manager and color commentator, best known for his time with the American Wrestling Association , World Championship Wrestling and the World Wrestling Federation...
, Verne Gagne
Verne Gagne
Laverne Clarence "Verne" Gagne , is a retired American professional wrestler, football player, and professional wrestling trainer and promoter. He was the former owner/promoter of the American Wrestling Association , based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, which was the predominant promotion throughout...
, The Road Warriors
Road Warriors
The Road Warriors were a professional wrestling tag team composed of Michael "Hawk" Hegstrand and Joseph "Animal" Laurinaitis. They performed under the name "Road Warriors" in the American Wrestling Association, the National Wrestling Alliance, and World Championship Wrestling, and the name Legion...
, Shawn Michaels
Shawn Michaels
Michael Shawn Hickenbottom , better known by his ring name Shawn Michaels, is an American television host and retired professional wrestler. He presents the Outdoor Channel show MacMillan River Adventures, and is currently signed to WWE, where he has served in an ambassadorial role since December...
and many others. Trongard's voice was featured on the AWA's weekly ESPN
ESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
broadcasts, reaching millions of homes around the world. His signature phrase was "From coast to coast, continent to continent, and border to border". During broadcasts, he often included city names in the phrase, signifying the broad reach of wrestling and the AWA's broadcasts at the time. Trongard called matches alongside fellow commentators Lord James Blears and Lee Marshall.
Trongard left the AWA in 1988 for a brief stint in the World Wrestling Federation
World Wrestling Entertainment
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. is an American publicly traded, privately controlled entertainment company dealing primarily in professional wrestling, with major revenue sources also coming from film, music, product licensing, and direct product sales...
(WWF), before retiring from the wrestling scene in early 1989. While in the WWF, he performed commentary alongside "Superstar" Billy Graham, Lord Alfred Hayes, and Sean Mooney
Sean Mooney
Sean Mooney is a former World Wrestling Federation play-by-play announcer. He was born and currently resides in Phoenix, Arizona.-WWF career:Mooney debuted on the May 15, 1988 edition of WWF Wrestling Challenge, replacing announcer Craig DeGeorge....
.
Later career and death
Trongard joined KEEZ FM Mankato in 1982, where he did morning drive, news, and sports for eleven years before moving to KTOE/KDOG Mankato in 1993. He continued to broadcast sports on KTOE/KDOG and on KXAC/KRRW St. James for many years, and was an important part of the community in southern Minnesota until he died after a long battle with liver cancerHepatocellular carcinoma
Hepatocellular carcinoma is the most common type of liver cancer. Most cases of HCC are secondary to either a viral hepatitide infection or cirrhosis .Compared to other cancers, HCC is quite a rare tumor in the United States...
in June 2005.
Trongard was inducted into the Pavek Museum of Broadcasting
Pavek Museum of Broadcasting
The Pavek Museum of Broadcasting is a museum in St. Louis Park, Minnesota which has one of the world's most significant collections of vintage radio and television equipment. It originated in the collection of Joe Pavek, who began squirreling away unique radios while he was an instructor at...
Hall of Fame in 2003.