February 12, 2018
Wayne Fuller, the voice of the Rochester Lancers, passed away in Rochester, N.Y Friday morning. He was 70. Wayne was born June 2, 1947 in Batavia.
Fuller, who had a classic baritone radio voice, called almost 200 games on radio for the Lancers in the original North American Soccer League from 1975-80 and the Rochester Flash in the American Soccer League in 1981.
He was inducted into the Rochester Lancers’ Wall of Fame in 2012 and was a member of the Batavia High School Sports Hall of Fame.
Fuller also did play-by-play for the Buffalo Stallions (Major Indoor Soccer League), Rochester Ravens (United Soccer League) and many high school and college sports.
Wayne was a 1965 graduate of Batavia High School and a 1969 graduate of SUNY Albany. He was a member of the Batavia Kiwanis Club and previous member of the Batavia Rotary Club.
He was a member of the Batavia High School Sports Hall of Fame and also announced for the Batavia High School boys and girls basketball teams and the Batavia High School baseball team. Wayne could be heard announcing for the Buffalo Stallions and Batavia Muckdogs. The Dwyer Stadium press box in Batavia is named after Fuller.
Wayne’s voice was heard on the airwaves beginning in 1967 with WBTA then continuing with WTRY, WAXC, WHAM 1180, WROC and WNYR. He retired from the airwaves in 2016 with his own show on WBTA.
His memory and quick wit made him a top-notch announcer who could keep an audience engaged, in person or over the radio. He was never one to actually play basketball or soccer or football or baseball, but he knew everything there was to know about them. He was also a wealth of knowledge on myriad other topics, including news and music.
This week's Kick This! Radio Show was dedicated in Mr. Fuller's honor.