The big, boisterous and passionate radio voice of Galesburg sports for nearly 30 years has gone silent.
Robb Strack, who called Galesburg Silver Streaks, Knox College and Carl Sandburg sporting events in addition to being a morning show host for both WGIL and WAIK radio stations, died Monday, according to his son Jonathon.
A member of the Galesburg Athletic Hall of Fame, Strack had battled Mantle Cell Lymphoma for nine years. He lived with his son’s family in North Barrington since 2021 and died while in hospice care in Barrington. He was 85.
Robb arrived in Galesburg in 1976 and called Silver Streaks basketball and football for WGIL Radio for 13 years. He later called sports for WAIK Radio for another 18 years. After leaving WAIK in 2008, Strack covered sports as a part-time stringer for The Register-Mail until 2019.
“Robb’s right there with the best Silver Streaks broadcasters ever,” said Dick Lindstrom, who helped call Streaks football and basketball for 15 years with Strack at WAIK. “Bill Pearson was great before Robb, and Brad Bennewitz has been at it a long time, and he’s top notch, too.
“They’re definitely the top three of Galesburg broadcasters, that’s for sure.”
Obituary: Robert “Robb” F. Strack: December 31, 1937 ~ January 16, 2023
Born on Dec. 31, 1937, in Milwaukee, Robb Strack attended Iowa State University and broadcasting school, with his first on-air radio job offer in Hayward, Wis., in the early 1960s. According to his obituary, the decision to take the job was serendipitous: It is where Robb launched his lifelong radio career and met his lifelong soulmate and wife, Sonja.
Robb’s radio career later moved to stations in Clinton, Iowa, before he landed in Galesburg.
‘The hardest-working guy you can find’
“I worked with Robb longer than I worked with anyone — over 20 years we worked between WGIL and WAIK,” said fellow Galesburg Athletic Hall of Fame and longtime broadcast partner Jimmie Carr.
“Robb was the hardest-working guy you could find. He was passionate, and he really wanted to do things the right way. He was very knowledgable about sports, and definitely knew the game of basketball. We had the pleasure of doing a lot of games and covering a lot of great teams together.”
Strack, Carr and the late Tom Wilson joined the Galesburg Athletic Hall of Fame as a trio in 2009.
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Lindstrom said he believes Strack was better than a small market radio play-by-play man.
“Robb was a pro,” Lindstrom said. “A lot of people do not understand what goes into putting a broadcast together. And I must admit I was one of those. You have to do your homework, and Robb was really good at that.
“I was really fortunate to come on and be a sidekick with someone as good as he was. He would set me up so I would look good.”
Jon Raymond met Robb in 1978 and the two worked together on-air at both WGIL and WAIK.
“I call Robb the classic 70s-style broadcaster,” said Raymond, who resides in Port Angeles, Washington. “He was a bellower in a positive way, because he just had that big kind of delivery.
“And of course he would get excited. He loved the Silver Streaks and Knox College and Carl Sandburg College – any team he broadcast was his team. He was a homer, but homers can be good, and Robb was.”
A lovable homer
And it was that “homersim” that contributed to Robb’s tendency to do more than his fair share of second-guessing officials.
“He had a problem with officials — I don’t think he ever met an official he agreed with,” joked Carr.
Lindstrom said, “People might not know that Robb was actually a certified basketball official himself. But he would certainly take after the officials. Maybe part of it was the fact Robb was a homer. He wanted to make sure the Silver Streaks won, and he was looking for any advantage they could get.”
“Robb would get on the officials, and he would even call them out by name,” Raymond said. “That was just his style. He was just a character. You couldn’t stop listening to him. I looked forward to listening to him.
“What a great guy.”
Galesburg Hall of Fame basketball player and later coach Barry Swanson called Robb “the consummate professional.”
“Once we were able to plug in the radio broadcast onto our video tapes of the games, it made watching the videos much more exciting. I especially remember our upset of Quincy at home. Michael Payne and Bruce Douglas were juniors I believe. Mark Makeever made some clutch free throws in the closing minutes to seal the victory. Robb called him ‘Steady Eddie.’
“Robb’s exuberance added immensely to the excitement that surrounded our teams. He was a good friend and supporter. I know the fans loved him. He and Jimmie Carr were a great combination. Robb called ‘em as he saw them, even when the officials occasionally missed a call.”
We’re saddened by the death of former longtime Sandburg scorekeeper Robb Strack, who passed away Monday at 85. He could be counted on to track fouls, free throws & field goals at nearly every Chargers home game, even as he battled mantle cell lymphoma in his later years. ❤️ pic.twitter.com/wJM6xVKOnz
— Sandburg Chargers (@SandburgNJCAA) January 18, 2023
Lindstrom also was close friends with Robb away from the broadcasts. They frequently could be seen together dining at local restaurants and they attended numerous University of Iowa and NFL games together.
“Robb was such an interesting guy,” Lindstrom said. “He was smart. He wasn’t just all sports, he followed the news and politics. Not much got by him.”
Swanson said Robb had a special talent for sports broadcasting.
“Great radio broadcasters re-create the game so the fans can almost see the action,” Swanson said. “I was the play by play announcer for WGIL for Coach (John) Thiel’s last season, so I know just what a demanding job it is, let alone the dedication to be at every game regardless of the weather or how you’re feeling.
“That’s what true pros like Robb Strack did, and he did it for years. Memories of my years as a coach will always include a soundtrack of Robb’s voice describing the action. For countless fans, he was the ‘Steady Eddie’ of Silver Streak basketball —a guy you could always count on to get the job done. He was knowledgeable, well prepared, and always completely tuned into what was happening on the floor. He was, indeed, a true pro.”
His obituary said his sons Eric, Jonathon and Steven, along with his grandchildren could count on Robb — known to them fondly as “Grandpa Bob” — to mark his calendar to attend choir and band concerts, recitals and graduations, and cheering from the sidelines of youth sports. He regularly sent birthday and anniversary cards and asked for Christmas lists by October to get a jump on shopping. The family was always together at Christmas, his favorite holiday.
A diehard fan of the Cubs and Packers
Robb was a diehard fan of both the Chicago Cubs and Green Bay Packers, and he wasn’t afraid to show it, or tell you. This rabid St. Louis Cardinals fan had many a friendly ribbings back and forth with Robb in our friendship that lasted nearly his entire stay in Galesburg.
During his time as a part-time sports writer, Robb was a frequent visitor to my former longtime home at The Register-Mail newsroom during the early morning hours. Walking with the aid of a cane in his later years, Robb would slowly make his way to the sports desk to see if he had any upcoming game assignments, but we in the newsroom knew he had come just to talk sports and current events and to boast about his beloved sons and grandchildren.
Robb’s legend will forever remain as big and boisterous as his voice. Rest in peace, Robb.
A private interment will be held at East Linwood Cemetery in Galesburg. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Wounded Warrior Project or a charity of your choice.
