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R.I.P. Tom Kinder, family hopes to take place


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[url="http://www.bengals.com/press/news.asp?iCurPage=0&news_id=2830"]http://www.bengals.com/press/news.asp?iCur...=0&news_id=2830[/url]


[b]PBS voice silent

4/10/2005 - 4-10-05, 4:30 p.m.

BY GEOFF HOBSON [/b]

Tom Kinder, who began one of the most memorable careers in Bengals’ history as the answer for founder Paul Brown’s need for reliability, ended it Sunday as the answer to a not-so trivia question.

Kinder, 78, who died after a brief illness Sunday morning, called a game at all three stadiums as the only public address announcer the club ever had.

“He loved the Bengals. He said getting to know Paul Brown, one of the true founders of the game, was one of the highlights of his life,” said Tom Kinder Jr., one of his father’s loyal spotters. “Mike (Brown) has been so nice to him, writing letters to him while he’s been in the hospital. It’s been a great association for us.

“When he went into the hospital, he said, ‘If I could just make it one more year, I know Marvin is going to get us to the playoffs and I’d like to be a part of all the excitement,” Kinder said.

Kinder literally became part of the action during the 32 seasons at Nippert Stadium and Riverfront Stadium (later Cinergy Field) because he did his work on the sidelines with a 110-yard cord for the stadium microphone.

“My Dad thought the best way for the fans to get the right information was to have the announcer right down on the field,” said Bengals President Mike Brown. “Tom got to know the players and coaches down through the years and he loved telling those stories. He really enjoyed it and he did a good job and performed a great service. I mourn his loss.”

Kinder Jr. thought the move upstairs to the booth when Paul Brown Stadium opened in 2000 extended his father’s career because he could finally sit in a chair. But he didn’t get the same great stories. Like the one from the late ‘80s, when Bengals head coach Sam Wyche grabbed Kinder’s microphone during a game against Seattle and both ended up in Queen City lore.

While a surly Riverfront crowd got through the day pelting everybody with snowballs, Wyche made his move. Kinder had known Wyche since his playing days, when he befriended the young quarterback and helped him find a place to live. But when Wyche approached him in December of 1989 with his hand outstretched, Kinder pulled the mike to his chest and said, “Sam, make sure you be careful what you say.’’

Barely had Wyche completed the infamous, “You don’t live in Cleveland, you live in Cincinnati,” when Kinder Jr. knew that his father had his 15 minutes of fame.

“That was it,” said Kinder, who was spotting that day. “And I still see Sam from time to time on ESPN, and there’s my dad standing right next to him.”

Tom Jr., who was 14 when he began helping spot for his dad when the Bengals began play in 1968, saw so many other great moments, too, and hopes to replace him. Moments like in the ‘70s, during a game against the Oilers and Houston linebacker Robert Brazille came off the field and told Kinder he gave the tackle to the wrong guy and missed him. Kinder apologized and told him, “Robert, I’ll make it up to you.”

On the Oilers’ next defensive snap, Brazille came nowhere near the tackle, but Kinder gave him the tackle anyway.

“He was back in the huddle calling signals when he looked up and waved to my Dad like, ‘OK,’” Tom Jr. said. “After that, every year when the Oilers came back, he would look for him and make sure he found my dad and they would talk.”

One time with the Vikings in town, his father sent Tom Jr. to head coach Bud Grant to see which lineup the visitors wanted announced. Grant took one look at the kid, and ripped up one side and down the other, and didn’t give him any names. When Tom came back with the news, Tom Sr. figured he’d approach Grant because he was older and was a familiar face. But Grant ripped him, too, and wouldn’t give him a lineup.

“So he just picked out 11 names and announced them,” Kinder said. “No matter if they were offense or defense.”

Maybe Tom Jr.’s best moment came in 1992 at Riverfront at the game the Bengals honored the 25th anniversary of the franchise.

“The one guy they knew and the one guy they remembered was my father,” Kinder said. “To see all those guys come up and talk to him, guys like Tommy Casanova, that meant a lot. That was special.”

Kinder, in the midst of a 25-year career announcing the University of Cincinnati games, became the Bengals announcer when Paul Brown brought the team to town in 1968. It was a natural in more ways than one. The Bengals were not only playing at UC’s Nippert Stadium, but Kinder had served in the Navy during World War II when his stint overlapped with Brown’s coaching tenure at Great Lakes Naval Station in suburban Chicago and he had followed Brown’s career in the ensuing years. That made the interview a lot more relaxing for both.

Plus, Tom Jr. remembers that Brown, “didn’t want to get sideways with the Reds right away by hiring their announcer.”

Tom Kinder Sr. was born in Columbus, but moved to Cincinnati at a young age and went on to graduate from Withrow High School and then UC. He was CEO of Smith and Schaefer, a company that produces laboratory equipment, and lived in Springfield Township.

Tom Jr., who lives in Anderson Township, is vice president of customer business development for Procter and Gamble in a career that once took him to Japan and away from helping his father spot. His brother Bob also helped him in a family affair, but it was family that almost made their father miss a game.

“I was getting married in Davenport, Iowa, and we actually scheduled the wedding around the Bengals,” Tom Jr. said. “Dad left to come back on Sunday and the plane’s landing gear couldn’t come down, and they had to make a belly landing in Cincinnati. That’s the closest he came to missing a game.”

Kinder became ill a few weeks ago and died of a blood clot at Christ Hospital. Funeral arrangements for Friday are incomplete. The visitation is 4-8 p.m. Thursday at George H. Rohde and Son Funeral Home in Mount Lookout Square, 3183 Linwood Ave.

“At the conclusion of every season, he would always say, ‘On behalf of the Cincinnati Bengals, we thank you,’” Tom Jr. recalled. “And he would add, ‘God willing, I’ll be here to welcome you again next year.’ It wasn’t meant to be this time.”

But after the funeral and some time passes, Tom Jr. hopes to approach Mike Brown about taking his father’s empty chair and announcing the games.

“If Mike doesn’t have any plans or anything like that, I’d like to talk to him about it,” Kinder said. “It would be nice to carry it on in the family. He loved the Bengals so much.”
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Guest Gonzoid

[quote]While a surly Riverfront crowd got through the day pelting everybody with snowballs, Wyche made his move. Kinder had known Wyche since his playing days, when he befriended the young quarterback and helped him find a place to live. But when Wyche approached him in December of 1989 with his hand outstretched, Kinder pulled the mike to his chest and said, “Sam, make sure you be careful what you say.’’

Barely had Wyche completed the infamous, “You don’t live in Cleveland, you live in Cincinnati,” when Kinder Jr. knew that his father had his 15 minutes of fame.

“That was it,” said Kinder, who was spotting that day. “And I still see Sam from time to time on ESPN, and there’s my dad standing right next to him.”[/quote]
I was there the day that happened. The stadium went nucking futs after he said that.

This is very sad news. First Samp, now Kinder. :(

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Guest oldschooler
Kinder, Bengals' voice for 37 seasons, dead at age 78

By Kevin Goheen
Post staff reporter


Tom Kinder Sr. walked the sidelines of home Bengals games for 37 seasons, every year of the team's existence. Fans may not have known his name or face but the voice of the franchise's P.A. announcer was synonymous with Sunday afternoons on the riverfront.

Kinder died Sunday morning following complications from recent surgery. He was 78.

"We have lost someone who was an integral part of our Bengals family, and who was simply a very good friend," said Bengals president Mike Brown in a statement released by the team. "For at least a while, I know our home games will simply not seem the same without Tom's voice as a part of the experience.

"He did his job well. He was knowledgeable, and he had a passion for the Bengals and for pro football. I think all our fans were privileged to experience that."

Kinder is survived by Ruth, his wife of 54 years, three children and eight grandchildren. Visitation will be from 4-8 p.m. Thursday at Rohde Funeral Home, 3183 Linwood Ave. in Mount Lookout Square.

Unlike most P.A. announcers in the NFL, Kinder called out scoring plays, tackles and end-of-play results from the sidelines instead of the press box. It put him closer to the action, close enough that when former Bengals head coach Sam Wyche made his famous "You don't live in Cleveland..." speech in order to stop fans from throwing snowballs onto the field during a 1989 game against Seattle, it was Kindred standing next to Wyche after delivering the microphone to him.

Kinder was a native of Columbus who moved to Cincinnati as a youth. He graduated from Withrow High School and the University of Cincinnati. He was the chief operating officer of Smith and Schaefer, an institutional contracting firm. He came to work with the Bengals through a friendship with franchise founder and Hall of Fame coach Paul Brown. The two met at Great Lakes Naval Base during World War II when Brown coached there.


[url="http://news.cincypost.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050411/SPT03/504110312/1022"]http://news.cincypost.com/apps/pbcs.dll/ar.../504110312/1022[/url]


:(
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  • 3 weeks later...
update:


Tom Kinder Jr., elder son of the late Tom Kinder, was named today to take over the job of public address announcer for Bengals games at Paul Brown Stadium. Kinder Sr., who held the position through 2004, covering all 37 Bengals seasons, died this past April 10 at age 78.

Kinder Jr. will be assisted by his brother, Bob Kinder. The Kinder brothers actively assisted their father during recent seasons, sometimes spelling him in doing the actual announcing. The voices of both Kinder brothers will be heard at the stadium in coming seasons.

“This should make for an almost seamless transition in a job that is very important to our fans,” said Bengals president Mike Brown. “The Kinder brothers have been involved with this position since they were young boys. They sound a good bit like their father. Our fans may be hard-pressed to notice a difference, and that’s the way Tom Sr. would have wanted it to be.”

Both Kinder brothers are graduates of Greenhills High School and Miami University.

Tom Kinder Jr., 51, lives in Anderson Township and is a vice-president with Procter & Gamble.

Bob Kinder, 48, lives in Indianapolis and is a sales representative with Cordis Endovascular, a division of Johnson & Johnson.
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Guest Gonzoid
[quote name='Nati Ice' date='Apr 27 2005, 10:12 PM']update:
Tom Kinder Jr., elder son of the late Tom Kinder, was named today to take over the job of public address announcer for Bengals games at Paul Brown Stadium. Kinder Sr., who held the position through 2004, covering all 37 Bengals seasons, died this past April 10 at age 78.

Kinder Jr. will be assisted by his brother, Bob Kinder. The Kinder brothers actively assisted their father during recent seasons, sometimes spelling him in doing the actual announcing. The voices of both Kinder brothers will be heard at the stadium in coming seasons.[right][post="85416"]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/post][/right][/quote]

Nepotism rears its ugly head in Bengaldom again. Only this time, I don't think it'll be so bad.
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Guest BlackJesus

[b]What the fuck is this the Kid takes over the father, and rides daddys coattails, and gets the top when he doesn't deserve it.....
























oh yeah <_<
[/b]





















[img]http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/choice2004/art/p_bushmainp.jpg[/img]

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Guest BlackJesus
[b]For those of you that laughed



















a message from the President .......[/b]












[img]http://img78.exs.cx/img78/5603/bush_finger.gif[/img]
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