R.I.P.: Bob Neumeier, Longtime Boston Sportscaster, WEEI Host

Bob Neumeier

Bob Neumeier, the affable broadcaster known as “Neumy” to legions of sports fans familiar with his work at Ch. 4, as a host on WEEI, or as a horse racing expert for NBC, died Saturday, according to The Boston Globe and confirmed by his family.

Neumeier, a 1972 graduate of Syracuse University, had battled health issues recently, including trouble with his heart. He suffered a stroke in October 2014, requiring 5½ hours of surgery, but returned to work at Comcast SportsNet New England (now NBC Sports Boston) the following May.

From 1981-2000, during the heyday of local news, Neumeier was a reporter and anchor at Ch. 4, where his deft writing ability made him a perfect complement to irreverent weekday sports anchor Bob Lobel.

Later, he hosted middays at WEEI Radio from 2002-05. He joined CSSNE in 2010. He also called the Bruins on WBZ 1030 AM from 1996-99, and was best known to a national audience as a trusted expert on NBC’s horse racing coverage.

“We are saddened to offer our condolences to the friends and family of Bob Neumeier, who passed away last night. In the midst of a prominent career in Boston,” an NBC spokesperson said in a statement. “Neumy joined NBC Sports and for more than two decades was a beloved member of our family working on horse racing, football and Olympics, among other events. Our thoughts are with Bob’s wife Michele, and the many sports fans to whom he meant so much.”

“Neumy took his work seriously but not himself seriously," said Gary Tanguay, who worked with Neumeier at Ch. 4 and NBC Sports Boston. “I never saw him get upset at anything. Something like the wrong video could play, and he would just roll with it, like no big deal. I never saw him angry once. That is very unusual in the world of sports television.”

Neumeier was a serious journalist, too. On July 27, 1993, he broke the news of Celtics star Reggie Lewis’s death.

“He was an old-school reporter who knew how to tell a story as well as any reporter I’ve ever met,” said Dan Roche, a Ch. 4 sports anchor and reporter. “He was great at television, because he would use the best video he had and match it with amazing writing. He was the best TV writer I’ve ever known.”

Neumeier's first job in broadcasting began in 1975 on WTIC in Hartford where he called play-by-play of the Whalers, working with Bill Rasmussen and Larry Pleau; among their calls was the famous "Brawl at the Mall" in April 1975 during a playoff series with the Minnesota Fighting Saints. In 1979, Neumeier left the Whalers to become the sports anchor at WFSB in Hartford.