Staff report

SALISBURY — Howard Platt, whose rich, resonant radio voice was a familiar — and beloved one — to Rowan County sports fans from the late 1970s until his retirement in 2017, has died.

A native of Strasburg, Va., who made Salisbury his adopted home for more than 40 years, Platt was 71.

Whether it was American Legion broadcasts with David Whisenant, high school football games with Wilson Cherry, Sam Moir Christmas Classics with Bob Parker, or the morning radio show where Platt paired with Kent Bernhardt for lively political debates, he became an important part not only of Rowan County sports, but of Rowan County life.

The University of North Carolina graduate wore his love for the UNC Tar Heels and Washington Redskins football on his sleeve and was equally outspoken in his disdain for the Dallas Cowboys and the Duke Blue Devils.

A Salisbury-Rowan Sports Hall of Famer and the North Carolina Sportscaster of the Year for 2003, Platt was quirky and opinionated, but he also was talented and hilarious, and his appetites for both food and sports were legendary. Platt made few enemies and thousands of friends in his decades of being on the air waves.

A full story on Platt  is upcoming.