HOUSTON, TX - On Sunday, Sept. 17, legendary Houston sports anchor and director Bob Allen will be inducted into the Houston Baseball Media Wall of Honor.
Each season, a current or former Houston media member is inducted into the Houston Baseball Media Wall of Honor for significant and lasting contributions to the landscape of Houston baseball through their work in journalism or broadcasting. This year, Allen was elected by the Houston media and will be inducted by the Astros in recognition of his long and impactful career in the industry.
Allen, who sadly passed away in October of 2016 after a lengthy battle with cancer, was one of the most iconic members of the Houston media market. He brought Astros baseball and all of Houston sports into thousands of living rooms for over four decades. Allen joined ABC13 News (KTRK) in 1974 and was named sports director in 1975, remaining in that post for the next 38 years, giving him the longest tenure of any major market sports anchor in the country. Following his run at KTRK, Allen joined KHOU 11 News where he served as sports director for two years.
During his career, Allen covered virtually all of the Astros' postseason runs, including the first Astros club to make the postseason in 1980, the record-setting 102-60 Astros in 1998, and the first Astros team to reach the World Series in 2005. He covered all five ownership groups in the history of the Houston franchise, and was on the air for some of the biggest moments in club history, including the construction and opening of Minute Maid Park and Craig Biggio's 3,000th hit.
A native of Houston, Allen graduated from Westbury High School and Stephen F. Austin State University, before beginning his journalism career at KPRC 950 AM. Allen was also committed to giving back to his community, as he was an enthusiastic supporter and board member of both the Sunshine Kids organization and the Special Olympics for many years.
On Sept. 17, the Astros will induct Allen in a pregame ceremony on the field and will present his family with a duplicate of the plaque that will be added to the Houston Baseball Wall of Honor in the Milo Hamilton Press Box at Minute Maid Park. His plaque will join those of previous inductees Anita Martini (2007), Gene Elston (2008), Neil Hohlfeld (2009), Mickey Herskowitz (2010), Bill Brown (2011), Milo Hamilton (2012), René Cardenas (2013), Alex Treviño (2014), Harry Shattuck (2015) and Mark Berman (2016).

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