About Bob

As Steve Rudman wrote in his book, "Who the Hell is Bob," "Walsh has done many things that frankly rank as astounding. Fiction would have rejected Bob Walsh out of hand."

Bob was born near Boston in 1940, raised in a good Protestant family, educated at a liberal arts college in Ohio and began his varied career as a radio and television producer in Boston and Los Angeles. He went to Seattle with Bill Russell in 1973 to help run the Seattle SuperSonics NBA franchise, became a sports agent, and then transformed himself into a promoter, businessman, humanitarian, back-channel ambassador and citizen diplomat. He continues to live in Seattle with his son, Tim.

His resume includes such disparate accomplishments as:

• Coordinating disaster relief for earthquake victims inside the Soviet Union during the cold war
• Arranging for Blue Angels and Soviet fighter pilots to secretly meet for vodka toasts and wild rides through the downtown streets of a major US city
• Supplying the Caucasus region with medical equipment and medicine during the height of a civil war
• Creating international jobs and visibility for the Russian Space Program, by partnering with Russians to shoot a capsule into space from Russia to the US in what the New York Times called the "...greatest publicity stunt of the 20th century"
• Expanding the Final Four to "March Madness"
• Organizing the largest sports, arts and cultural program in the history of the U.S. and USSR during the Cold War (The Goodwill Games)
• Serving as Founding Chairman of "OneWorld Now!," an innovative after-school program
• Negotiating for the U.S. for the return of two orbiting satellites allegedly stolen by the Russians

Bob's persistence, courage, attitude and empathy earned him the "Martin Luther King, Jr. Award," the "Supreme Soviet Award" from President Gorbachev, the "World Affairs Council" Award, recognition as an "Honorary Citizen of the Republic of Georgia," and special recognition from Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush.