Signing Off Two Lifetimes of Excellence
Chapter Eternal
Bob Wolff (Duke)
Renown radio and television broadcaster Bob Wolff entered the Chapter Eternal on July 15, 2017. Brother Wolff was born and raised in New York City and attended Duke University where he became an initiate of Gamma Chapter.
Wolff’s noteworthy career in broadcasting began in 1939 while attending Duke University. He had previously been a player on the baseball team before an ankle injury during his sophomore year transitioned him to broadcasting on a local CBS radio station. In 1947 he became the TV voice of the Washington Senators, moving with the team to Minnesota in 1961.
Over the course of his career he served as the play-by-play voice for eight teams in five different sports including the New York Knicks, Detroit Pistons, New York Rangers, Washington Redskins, Cleveland Browns, Minnesota Twins, and the North American Soccer League’s Tampa Bay Rowdies. He was also the play-by-play telecaster for the Madison Square Garden Network for many years.
Among his most noteworthy calls were Don Larsen’s perfect World Series game, Jackie Robinson’s last major league hit to win Game 6 of the 1956 World Series, the New York Knicks’ only two championships in 1970 and 1973, and the 1958 NFL Championship Game which is often called, “The Greatest Game Ever Played.”
Brother Wolff and Curt Gowdy are the only two broadcasters honored in both the Baseball and Basketball Halls of Fame. Wolff is also honored in Sigma Nu’s Hall of Fame.
William Woodward “Hootie” Johnson (South Carolina)
Former Chairman of the Executive Committee at Bank of America and Chairman of Augusta National Golf Club Hootie Johnson entered the Chapter Eternal on July 14, 2017. Brother Johnson was born in Augusta, Ga. but grew up in Greenwood, S.C. He attended the University of South Carolina on a football scholarship and is an initiate of Delta Chapter.
Following graduation he returned to Greenwood where he worked at the Bank of Greenwood, eventually seeing its transformation into Bankers Trust of South Carolina. In 1965 he assumed control of the bank and guided it into a position of both high performance and high esteem.
Brother Johnson became Chairman of Augusta National Golf Club in 1998 and oversaw the first 18-hole network television coverage of the Masters tournament as well as significant changes to qualifying procedures.
Johnson was also an advocate for civil rights in South Carolina. In his banking career he appointed African-Americans and women to several corporate boards and in 1968 he worked on a desegregation plan for South Carolina’s colleges and universities. As noted by past Governor Jim Hodges, Brother Johnson was also the first businessman to push for the removal of the Confederate flag from the state house in Columbia.