Bobby Pope, Mercer and Macon sports staple, passes away
One of Central Georgia’s most familiar faces and voices has died.
Bobby Pope, whose careers at WMAZ and Mercer spanned four decades, died Sunday afternoon at the age of 75.
His son Andy posted the update on Pope’s Caringbridge.com page just before 4 p.m.: “Dad passed away a few minutes ago. Just know that he is in a better place now and that he loved all of you. Thank you so much for supporting us through all this, your messages have been wonderful, and mom read all of them to him.”
Pope had suffered from declining health in recent years, and went into the hospital in mid-August to treat one condition when another was discovered.
He is survived by wife Carol, and children Andy and Krissy.
A graduate of R.E. Lee Institute in Thomaston, Pope graduated from Georgia College.
His broadcasting career started at WSFT in Thomaston, before moving to Macon radio in 1964.
He was the Sports Director at WMAZ for nearly a decade, and worked for the station’s TV and radio (WMAC) entities overall for about two decades.
Pope, with WMAZ co-workers Bill Buckley and George Jobin.
Pope added broadcasting Mercer events in 1970, and then served a little more than a decade as the school’s sports information director.
He hosted a Saturday college football scoreboard show on radio for about three dozen years, and wrote a weekly column for The Telegraph for a few years.
Pope moved to Mercer full-time, and was named athletics director at in 1989, and served in that role for more than 20 years.
Pope with daughter Krissy, wife Carol, and son Andy at the Macon Sport Hall of Fame induction.
He was president of the Atlantic Sun Conference for two years, also serving on assorted committees while Mercer was in the conference.
The announcement of a change came in January, 2010, that Pope would give way to Jim Cole as athletics director, and move to the positions to special assistant to the president and executive director of the Mercer Athletic Foundation, effective July 1, 2010.
But late that spring, Pope decided it was time to move on, and he was the recipient of a large farewell gathering on the final day of June, his final day as a Mercer employee.
Upon leaving Mercer, he began working at Myers McRae Executive Search – headed by former Mercer president Kirby Godsey and ex-Mercer senior VP Emily Myers - in Macon. He is still listed on the firm’s website as a vice president.
Pope was heavily involved for decades with the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame in a variety of roles, including that of executive director for a little more than two years as well as serving on the hall’s foundation and authority.
He was also involved for decades with the Macon Touchdown Club in nearly every officer role as well as serving as a major go-between in attracting a stellar list of speakers, until health led him to decrease his work with the club.
Pope is a member of the Macon Sports Hall of Fame, Mercer Hall of Fame, Thomaston-Upson County Hall of Fame, the Georgia Radio Hall of Fame, and was inducted in February to the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame.