UCLA Broadcaster Chris Roberts, Who Covered Bruins Football in the Rose Bowl, Dead at 74

Former longtime UCLA broadcaster Chris Roberts passed away peacefully in his Glendora home on the morning of May 12, 2023. Roberts, who was 74 years old, died from complications of Parkinson’s disease.

Roberts served as UCLA’s football and men’s basketball play-by-play broadcaster for 23 seasons, starting in the fall of 1992 through the spring of 2015. 

He covered UCLA Bruins football games in the Rose Bowl Stadium that included the Bruins’ Rose Bowl appearances on January 1, 1994, and January 1, 1999

He broadcast more NCAA Division I games on Los Angeles radio from 1982 through 2015 than anybody else. With his final season with the Bruins in 2014-15, Roberts equaled Fred Hessler’s mark for the longest-tenured play-by-play broadcaster in UCLA history.

A native of the San Gabriel Valley in Southern California, Roberts first signed on for the Bruins in the fall of 1992. He served as the voice of UCLA football for 23 seasons and called 16 bowl games, including the Bruins’ Rose Bowl appearances on January 1, 1994 and January 1, 1999.

Roberts also broadcast the men’s basketball team through 19 trips to the NCAA Tournament during his tenure. Most notably, he called the Bruins’ memorable run to the 1995 NCAA Tournament Championship that culminated in an 89-78 title-game victory over Arkansas at the Kingdome in Seattle.

The author of two books, Stadium Stories: UCLA Bruins and UCLA Football Vault, which he co-wrote with Bill Bennett, Roberts was an eight-time nominee for the SCSBA’s Play-by-Play Broadcaster of the Year Award and a voter for both the Heisman Trophy and the John R. Wooden Award. He was a four-time Golden Mike Award winner and a Hall of Fame member in the Southern California Sports Broadcasters Association (SCSBA).

Prior to his retirement as a broadcaster in 2015, Roberts had been honored by the SCSBA in 2013 with the Chick Hearn Award for best play-by-play. During his final season in 2014-15, Roberts had the opportunity to call UCLA’s football team in the Alamo Bowl (as the Bruins defeated Kansas State, 40-35) before the men’s basketball team advanced to the NCAA Tournament’s Sweet 16 in Houston.

Born as Bob LaPeer in Alhambra, Calif., Roberts grew up in Baldwin Park, Calif., and was a three-sport athlete at Baldwin Park High School (football, basketball and baseball). He played baseball at Cal Poly Pomona and began his career in broadcasting at KCIN in Victorville. He spent time on the air at KREO in Indio and KWOW in Pomona, where he announced high school and junior college sports.

Roberts was working at KFXM in San Bernardino in 1970 when the program director at the station asked him to change his name, seeing as another individual named Bob worked at KXFM. He later moved to Los Angeles and worked at KUTE-FM, KFI and sister station KOST, and later at KMPC. He served as the play-by-play voice at Long Beach State for 10 years before securing his longtime role as UCLA’s play-by-play broadcaster.

During his 23-year tenure as UCLA’s play-by-play broadcaster, Roberts was joined in the broadcast booth or along the scorer’s table by several former UCLA athletes who served as radio analysts. Calling UCLA’s football games, Roberts worked alongside former quarterbacks David Norrie, Matt Stevens and Wayne Cook. With the men’s basketball team, Roberts’ radio analysts over the years had included Marques Johnson, Mike Warren, Bob Myers, Don MacLean and Tracy Murray.

In addition to his broadcasting career at UCLA, Roberts also worked in real estate and enjoyed coaching baseball as the junior varsity coach at Glendora High School. He coached Glendora’s JV squad to a significant string of Baseline League titles as the head coach.

Roberts is survived by his wife Ann LaPeer, son David LaPeer and daughter-in-law Yvette LaPeer, daughter Nichole Hijon-LaPeer, son-in-law Octavio Hijon and grandchildren Andrés, Santiago and Carmen.

Roberts’ family requests that in lieu of flowers, in Chris’ memory, to please remember to provide love, guidance, and mentorship to those around you and in need. He was always proud and fond of the young broadcasters that he had the privilege to coach and mentor.