Veteran St. Louis radio and television broadcaster Ron Jacober will be inducted into the Missouri Broadcasters Association’s (MBA) Hall of Fame Friday evening in Osage Beach.
Mr. Jacober has covered sports on St. Louis radio and television for more than four decades. While he’s in six Halls of Fame, Mr. Jacober tells 939 the Eagle that this one is his Cooperstown and that he appreciates being remembered:
“A guy came up to me about three weeks ago and said ‘I watch you every night.’ I said well thank you but you haven’t for 35 years but thank you for remembering. And every time people say something like that to me, I thank them for remembering. Because that to me meant that I guess I did a pretty good job with them,” Mr. Jacober says.
Ron Jacober has done play-by-play over the years for the St. Louis Cardinals, St. Louis Blues, the St. Louis Steamers and he also served as the play-by-play man for Mizzou football at one time. He worked at KSDK Channel 5 in St. Louis from 1968-1985 before moving to KXOK Radio when they obtained the Blues rights in 1986. Mr. Jacober finished his career at powerhouse station KMOX Radio (AM 1120), where he started in 1987 and worked for 26 years until retiring.
St. Louis Cardinal baseball fans will remember Jacober hosting the popular “Dugout” pregame show during Cardinals telecasts, which aired those days on Channel 5. Jay Randolph had an assignment with NBC one weekend, and Mr. Jacober and Jack Buck called a Cardinals-Cubs game at Wrigley field. Buck asked Jacober if he wanted to do play-by-play in the third inning, and Buck then got up and left the booth:
“And I know why he did it now looking back on it because he thought maybe if he’s sitting next to me I would be intimidated by it. I don’t know whether that’s the case or not but I was much more relaxed when he wasn’t there. So he came back a couple of innings later, ‘how did it go’ and I said well I think it went fine,” Mr. Jacober says.
Mr. Jacober tells 939 the Eagle that he thought he died and went to heaven that day at Wrigley, noting he grew up as a St. Louis Cardinals fan.
While he’s called Mizzou football, St. Louis Cardinals baseball, Blues hockey, ESPN’s college basketball and numerous other sports over the years, Mr. Jacober may best be known for the thousands of interviews he’s conducted over the years. He also hosted the popular “Sports on a Sunday Morning” show on KMOX for years. Ron Jacober had a unique interviewing style. While he prepared, he listened closely to what the interviewee was saying. He was also respectful of the guests:
“Well (former Cardinals general manager) Walt Jocketty told me one time, he said you get me to say things I really don’t want to say but because of the way you ask it, I do. It’s one of my pet peeves a lot of the young people in the business don’t know how to interview,” Mr. Jacober says,
He says he always listened closely and got the best questions from something the interviewee said, rather than questions Ron thought of ahead of time:
“I tried to convince a lot of young people that we have through Channel 5 (KSDK) and KMOX to work on your interviewing skills. Don’t go into an interview with a list of questions. Understand and know have knowledge of what you’re talking about and the individual, but most times many times the next best question is related to something that you said,” Mr. Jacober says.
Ron Jacober likely did more interviews than anyone else in St. Louis media with legendary heavyweight boxing champion Muhammad Ali. Jacober was in Las Vegas in 1978, when St. Louisan Leon Spinks upset Ali to win the heavyweight title.
KMOX (AM 1120) talk brand manager Steve Moore, who worked here in Columbia for several years, tells 939 the Eagle that Ron Jacober’s legendary career in broadcasting is a testament to his passion, professionalism, and enduring connection with his audience.
“For decades, he brought clarity, insight, and warmth to the airwaves, becoming a trusted voice in St. Louis sports. His deep knowledge, engaging storytelling, and unwavering dedication have made him not only a respected broadcaster but also a beloved figure in the community,” Steve Moore says.
Ron Jacober graduated with a degree in journalism from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale. He’s a U.S. Army veteran. He’s also been inducted into the St. Louis Radio Hall of Fame, the St. Louis Media Hall of Fame, the St. Louis Sports Hall of Fame, the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame and the Highland, Illinois, Schools Hall of Fame.
Click here to listen to the full interview between 939 the Eagle’s Brian Hauswirth and legendary broadcaster Ron Jacober, which was recorded in May 2025:
