Opinion: Remembering Bob Trumpy — NFL great, broadcaster, and life-saver

Scott Simon

November 08, 2025 / 5:00 am

Bob Trumpy, who died this week at the age of 80, was an All-Pro tight end for the Cincinnati Bengals, then took his booming voice and blunt opinions into broadcasting.

He had a show called "Sportstalk" on Cincinnati's WLW Radio . Sports radio can be loud and raucous, blaring with bluster and bellowing. "Can you believe that? What were they thinking?"

But one night in 1983, the first person to call in said her name was Sugar. She said she had been drinking, and was married to a man who beat her. She said that she hadn't worked for more than a decade and could not support her 19-year-old son. And, Sugar said, she wanted to end her life.

"I don't know why she called a spo

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