Voice of Duquesne Basketball for 58 years dies at age 89

The Duquesne community is mourning a legend.

Ray Goss, the voice of Duke Basketball for 58 years, died on Tuesday after being injured in a car crash. He was 89-years-old.

“We’re deeply saddened to learn of Ray’s passing,” Duquesne Interim Director of Athletics John Henderson said in a statement. “You would be hard-pressed to find a soul who loved Duquesne, and Duquesne basketball, more than Ray Goss.”

Henderson’s statement went on to share fond memories of sitting by Goss on the team bus and hearing him share life updates with his children.

“Everyone who knew Ray understood how wonderful a person he was. He had an amazing voice that blessed Duquesne fans for 58 years and a smile that lit up the room when he greeted you. Ray narrated the story of the Dukes with all the highs and lows, and we’re forever indebted to him for his passionate service and enthusiasm for his beloved Dukes,” Henderson said.

Goss, a 1958 graduate of Duquesne University, called his first Dukes basketball game in 1968, but his full-time tenure as a play-by-play radio announcer started with the 1968-69 season.

Throughout his tenure, Goss missed only two games — once in 1978 for an audition and again in 2011 after his wife died. He called 977 consecutive games in between those absences.

He was inducted into the Duquesne Athletics Hall of Fame in 1993 and in 2025 received the Woody Durham Voice of College Sports Award and won the radio award from the Media Association of Pittsburgh.

Earlier this month, he was honored as “The Enduring Voice of Duquesne Basketball” at the Chuck Cooper Centennial Gala.

Goss is survived by his seven children, 14 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

Funeral arrangements have not yet been organized.

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