Ira Smith (announcer)

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Ira C. Smith was an American public address announcer who had worked for the Sacramento Kings of the National Basketball Association. Since 1976, Smith has been called the Voice of Napa Valley Sports for KVON and KVYN, covering many local sports.

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Early life and military service

Smith was born and raised in Plum Tree, Indiana. [1] He grew up listening to sportscasters Hilliard Gates and Chris Schenkel. [2] He graduated from Hanover College with a degree in business administration. [1]

He was then drafted into the Army. [3] A major assigned him to the Army Public Information Office as a Broadcast Specialist because of the sound of his voice. [3] [4]

Career

After leaving the military, Ira started his civilian career in radio management and sportscasting. [3] In the 1960s, he was the University of Cincinnati's sports director of their radio station, broadcasting Cincinnati Royals' games. [5] Along the way Ira worked at WHLT in Columbia City, Indiana (4 years), WMRI AM and FM in Marion, Indiana (2 years) and WVMO in Monroe, Michigan where he also, for six years, broadcast University of Michigan football. [3]

In 1975, Smith moved to the Napa Valley to become KVON's Sports Director. [6] Since 1976, he has been called the Voice of Napa Valley Sports for KVON and KVYN, covering many local sports. [3] He has announced over 600 football and 1,300 basketball games in the Napa Valley area. [4]

In 2000, with the death of long-time Sacramento Kings public address announcer Fred Anderson, the Kings held auditions for the position. Smith sent his audition tape, and for the final test, he had to broadcast half of a game between the Kings and the Utah Jazz, while the other finalist, Eric Hasseltine, broadcast the other half. [7] He passed the audition and joined the Kings' staff that year. [5] From 2000 to 2003, Smith was the main public address announcer for the team and from the 2003–04 season onward, he shared the public address announcing duties with Scott Moak. [5] They worked together until he left in 2007. [1]

Smith provided the voice of the Public Address Announcer in ESPN's NBA 2K2, NBA 2K3, and NBA 2K4 video games. [8] [9] [5] He has also emceed Sacramento's Harvest Festival for over 20 years. [2]

Community involvement

Smith has served as past president of the Kiwanis Club for Napa and past president of the Napa Valley Tennis Association. [6] He received the Napa Chamber of Commerce "Volunteer of the Year" award. [4] He was also an ambassador for the Napa Chamber of Commerce, and was honored as its Ambassador of the Year in 2017. [1]

Honors

Smith was inducted into the Napa High School Athletic Hall of Fame on March 5, 2022. [4] On September 10, 2022, the Vintage High School Athletic Hall of Fame also inducted him. [6] On November 2, 2022, he was inducted into the Bay Area Radio Hall of Fame. [1]

Personal life

Smith had two sons, Brad and Tyler Smith, and a daughter, Heidi Horton. . [1] Ira C Smith died on July 20, 2024, in Napa, California, from cardiac arrest. He was 88.

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 James, Marty (November 2, 2022). "Napa Valley Notes and Quotes: Smith enters Bay Area Radio Hall of Fame". Napa Valley Register. Archived from the original on November 2, 2022. Retrieved December 17, 2023.
  2. 1 2 Hoornstra, J.P. (September 25, 2005). "Time flies for Smith in Napa – (9/25) – Times Herald Online". Times Herald Online. Archived from the original on December 17, 2023. Retrieved December 17, 2023.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 "IRA C. Smith - 1440 KVON". Archived from the original on March 11, 2017. Retrieved December 17, 2023.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "Ira C. Smith". Napa High Athletic Hall of Fame. Retrieved December 17, 2023.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Navalta, Chris. "KINGS: Voices of the Kings". NBA.com. Archived from the original on December 6, 2004. Retrieved December 17, 2023.
  6. 1 2 3 Fusek, Maggie (August 26, 2022). "Ira C. Smith Inducted Into Napa, Vintage High Schools' Halls Of Fame". Napa Valley, CA Patch. Retrieved December 17, 2023.
  7. ↑ Brewer, Rick (October 11, 2000). "And now there are two: Finalists will go at it at tonight's Kings-Jazz game". The Stockton Record. Retrieved December 17, 2023.
  8. ↑ "NBA 2K2 (2002) GameCube credits".
  9. ↑ "NBA 2K3 (2002) Xbox credits".
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