National Football Foundation

The renowned voice of Cal football, Starkey will return for his 36th season with the Bears this fall. Perhaps best known for his legendary call of "The Play" in 1982 - when the Cal football team famously returned a five-lateral kick-off return for a touchdown in between Stanford band members - Starkey has been named the Best Play-by-Play Announcer in the state of California nine times.

A graduate of Loyola University, after briefly playing football at Thornton Junior College, Starkey began his career as a television and radio broadcaster for the California Golden Seals in 1972. Three years later, he became a freelance announcer for Cal games, a relationship that would continue for the next 36 years. He joined KGO Radio as its sports director in 1979, leading the station to a No. 1 ranking in the market for 15 consecutive years. After stints with the Minnesota Vikings and with the USFL's Oakland Invaders, Starkey became the play-by-play announcer for the San Francisco 49ers until his retirement from the franchise in 2008.

Starkey has narrated for NFL and HBO films and has offered his vocal talents for various commercials and civic organizations. He and his wife Diane have three children, and they reside in Walnut Creek, Calif.