The "Voice of the Blue Devils" passed away Wednesday morning.
Bob Harris, the play-by-play broadcasting voice for Duke men's basketball and football for 41 years, died at 81.
"We are deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Bob Harris," said Duke Director of Athletics Nina King. "We send our heartfelt condolences to Phyllis and the entire Harris family. Duke, the Atlantic Coast Conference and the entire collegiate athletics community has lost a true icon. For over four decades, Bob represented Duke with the utmost professionalism while delivering to our fans worldwide an acute account of Blue Devil football and men's basketball games. He will be greatly missed, but his legacy will live forever."
Harris was the longest tenured play-by-play voice in the history of the ACC, calling Duke games until 2017. He is in both the Duke Athletics and North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame, and was awarded the North Carolina Broadcaster of the Year three times.
Throughout his tenure, Harris called more than 1,300 Duke basketball games and all five National Championships. One of his most famous calls is from the 1992 Elite Eight matchup against Kentucky, when Christian Laettner hit "The Shot."
Harris was followed by David Shumate, who has continued Harris' legacy in the booth ever since.
"Duke lost another one of its greatest treasures with the passing of Bob Harris," said former Duke basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski. "For decades as our radio play-by-play broadcaster, Bob told the story of Duke Athletics better than anyone. He was much more than an announcer to all of us. He was a family member who absolutely loved Duke and everything it stands for."
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Ranjan Jindal is a Trinity junior and sports editor of The Chronicle's 120th volume.