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Oklahoma City Sports Broadcaster Bob Barry, Jr. Dies In Motorcycle Accident

Bob Barry, Jr.
WWLS-AM/FM "The Sports Animal"

Updated June 22, 8:01 a.m.: Funeral services have been set for longtime Oklahoma City sports personality Bob Barry, Jr., who died Saturday in a motor scooter accident in Oklahoma City.

Barry’s family says Crossings Community Church in northwest Oklahoma City will hold a public memorial service at 11 a.m. Friday.

26-year-old Gustavo Castillo Gutierrez remains in Oklahoma County Jail on $18,500 bond for manslaughter and drug possession charges. Oklahoma City police say he caused the crash by making an illegal U-turn.

Original Post

Bob Barry, Jr., the sports director at KFOR-TV Channel 4 in Oklahoma City, died Saturday in a motorcycle accident. He was 58.

“Bob loved his family, and he loved Oklahoma. We would just ask that everyone say a prayer for his wife Gina and his family at this difficult time,” said KFOR News Director Carlton Houston in a statement posted on Channel 4's website.

The fatality accident superviser told KWTV News 9 a car driving southbound on May Ave. made a U-turn in front of Barry's motorcycle, which caused the two to collide.

Oklahoma City Thunder Chairman Clay Bennett said in a statement that sports broadcasting in Oklahoma had lost one of its finest.

"For decades Bob covered sports with integrity, dedication and passion," Bennett said. "We send our thoughts and prayers to the Barry family, his TV and radio colleagues, and all who knew and loved him." 

Barry also hosted a popular morning show on WWLS "The Sports Animal." He started his radio career as a student at Norman High School in the early 1970s. The 1980 University of Oklahoma graduate had been named "Oklahoma Sportscaster of the Year" by the National Sportscaster and Sportswriters Association six times since 2003, most recently in 2012.

Before joining KFOR in 1982,  he worked as a sports anchor at KAUZ-TV in Wichita Falls, Texas and at KAUT-TV, Channel 43 in Oklahoma City. At KFOR, he was often paired with his father, longtime sports anchor Bob Barry, Sr., who passed away in October 2011 less than a year after retiring as the voice of OU football and men's basketball following the 2010-2011 season.

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Brian Hardzinski is from Flower Mound, Texas and a graduate of the University of Oklahoma. He began his career at KGOU as a student intern, joining KGOU full time in 2009 as Operations and Public Service Announcement Director. He began regularly hosting Morning Edition in 2014, and became the station's first Digital News Editor in 2015-16. Brian’s work at KGOU has been honored by Public Radio News Directors Incorporated (PRNDI), the Oklahoma Association of Broadcasters, the Oklahoma Associated Press Broadcasters, and local and regional chapters of the Society of Professional Journalists. Brian enjoys competing in triathlons, distance running, playing tennis, and entertaining his rambunctious Boston Terrier, Bucky.
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