Rob “Hardy” Poole

American broadcaster and host Rob “Hardy” Poole has been entertaining radio audiences in Boston for 25 years. Since 2009, he’s been the host of 98.5 The Sports Hub, the flagship station for several of New England’s major sports teams. Since 2016, he’s also been the host of Sirius XM’s 90’s alternative rock and grunge show, Lithium. He’s also worked as an on-field announcer for local lacrosse team the Boston Cannons and as a pre and post-game host for NFL side the Boston Patriots and MLS side the New England Revolution.

Despite his long career in such a variety of very public roles, Poole likes to stay something of an enigma, preferring to let the music and the sports do the talking. He has however revealed, somewhat cryptically that his “Hardy” nickname was derived from John Fogerty’s 1990s hit “Hot Rod Heart”. He studied Journalism at Michigan State University, graduating in 1993 and moving into the world of radio, at one point working as a DJ on a Los Angeles rock station. In 1998, he moved to Boston and began working as a DJ for WBCN, a role he kept for over a decade until its owner CBS rebranded the station as a talk sports station called 98.5 The Hub. Poole was one of the DJs who made the transition — despite having previously only having to talk between songs for maybe a few minutes every hour — and has thrived ever since, becoming the go-to voice for sports fans across Boston and the greater New England area.