Ike Rooks, 'Voice of the Bulldogs,' remembered for educating, entertaining

HUNTSVILLE -- Ike Rooks, the "Voice of the Bulldogs," died Friday night. He was 87.

Funeral arrangements will be announced. He is survived by his wife Nancy Palmer Rooks; his son, Isacc "Sonny" Rooks III; and granddaughter, Hannah Grace Rooks.

Rooks began his career in 1960, and, for more than 40 years was the play-by-play announcer for the football and basketball teams at Alabama A&M University, including the last 15 years at WJAB radio. He ended his broadcasting career as the host of "The Locker Room" on WJAB.

"I was always interested in radio and sports, even as a child,'' according to his biography when he was inducted into the Huntsville-Madison County Athletic Hall of Fame in 2005. "It was the legendary coach Adam Kellam who gave me my first big opportunity when he asked me to keep statistics and be the field announcer at the old W. C. Councill High School football field."

In 1965, he founded and developed the Athletic Boosters Club of Huntsville, which introduced the first sports hall of Fame in Huntsville and Madison County. He was named to the ABC Hall of Fame in 1981 and to the Alabama A&M Sports Hall of Fame in 1993.

In 2000, he was given a Special Achievement Award by the Huntsville-Madison County Athletic Hall of Fame and inducted five years later.

"It's not often you have the privilege of working with someone you grew up listening to on the radio," said Michael Burns, WJAB-FM 90.9 operations manager and play-by-play announcer for the Bulldogs' basketball team. "I'll always be grateful for the time I spent with Ike.

"Those hours spent on the road, the great conversations and the lessons learned from someone who was truly a master."

Ted Dixie, the play-by-play announcer for A&M football for the last three seasons, remembers Rooks for his legendary ability to entertain and educate.

"Mr. Rooks was a great storyteller," Dixie said. "He could entertain and educate at the same time, in a manner that was exclusive to him."

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