Bob Trumpy, Bengals legend and broadcaster, dead at 80

Former Cincinnati Bengals tight end/wide receiver and longtime broadcaster Bob Trumpy has died at the age of 80, the team announced Sunday.

Trumpy passed away at home surrounded by loved ones, the team disclosed in a statement, but a cause of death was not revealed.

A University of Utah alum, Trumpy was one of the Bengals’ original draft selections when the franchise joined the AFL in 1968.

He went on to play 10 seasons (1968–1977) with Cincinnati, emerging as one of the league’s best tight ends of his era.

Over his career, Trumpy totaled 298 receptions for 4,600 yards and 35 touchdowns.

He remains the only player in Bengals history to earn Pro Bowl nods in both the AFL and NFL, being an honoree twice in each iteration of the league.

Bengals president Mike Brown praised Trumpy in the wake of his death.

“I’ve known Bob since we started here and he had an extraordinary career as both a player and a broadcaster,” Brown said in a statement released on Sunday. “He was an exceptional and rare tight end who could get downfield and split zone coverages. Speed was his hallmark. He was as fast as any wide receiver and was a deep threat. That was rare for a tight end then and it’s rare now.”

Trumpy pivoted to broadcasting toward the end of his playing career. He had a popular “Sports Talk” radio program on Cincinnati’s WLW-AM, and worked four Super Bowls, three Olympics and three Ryder Cups.

“I remember the general manager of WLW say some years afterwards that Trumpy carried this station for a decade with his program,” Brown recalled.

In recognition of his contributions to sports broadcasting, Trumpy received the Pete Rozelle Radio-Television Award from the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2014, honoring his work and longevity in sports media.