Merle Rossman was born in Lodi, grew up in Oakland, and graduated from San Jose State College. His radio career began in Watsonville, after which he moved to San Rosa’s KSRO in 1959.
Under the air name Merle Ross, he would serve the station in the roles of program director, operations manager, and news director for over 30 years. Ross would team up with KSRO morning host and fellow 2026 BARHOF inductee Jim Grady for thousands of Sonoma County sports broadcasts, covering everything from local high schools to Santa Rosa Junior College to Sonoma State University.
Merle Ross died in 2021 at the age of 92.