His voice has been a mainstay for Polk County sports fans for more than 40 years – so long, in fact, that he was already a veteran of Polk County sports broadcasting when the Lakeland Dreadnaughts brought home their first state championship in 1986. Known as Ronnie Ocean over the airwaves, Ron O’Connor is as much a part of the fabric of Polk County as the farms his professional career took him to.

Born in Tampa but raised in Lakeland, his loves of sports – particularly football – started early.

“I think I was about 5-years-old when I went to watch my uncle play football at Hillsborough High School,” he said. “It was a few years later when I saw my first professional game – the Baltimore Colts versus the New York Giants. I instantly became a Johnny Unitas fan.”

While professional football was in its infancy, “The Greatest Game Ever Played,” turned a nation in general and a young O’Connor in particular into lifelong fans – and Ron was no exception.

“I played JV football as a kid, but my dad wanted me to work,” said O’Connor. “When I asked the coach if I could do both, he just growled at me. So that was that.”

He’d start his college career a little ways from home at what was then Polk Community College.

“We used it call it UCLA,” O’Connor said. “University Closest to Lake Alfred.”

Next up for O’Connor was the University of Florida, where he would major in broadcasting, putting in his time producing media on campus.

“Doug Dickey, the head coach of the Gators in 1974, was my first interview,” he said.

Graduating in 1976, he soon found his way onto the airways of Polk County.

“I’d broadcast the Dreadnaughts games on WONN,” he said. “I even covered the Dreadnoughts first championship game.”

Other highlights included working for Centel Cablevision, broadcasting some USFL preseason games and interviewing Jim Mora, then the head coach for the Baltimore Stars, as well as covering games for the Red Sox minor league team in Winter Haven.

“They even asked me to broadcast a fantasy camp,” said the lifelong Red Sox fan. “And I got to hang out with Bill “The Spaceman” Lee, Denny Doyle, and even Luis Tiant was there. It was special.”

But his job at the Farm Credit of Central Florida, working primarily on advertising, marketing, public relations and government affairs, took him away from broadcasting. His success in his role was obvious – he was named the National Marketer of the Year in 1997.

Farm Credit of Central Florida is part of the Farm Credit System, established by Congress to provide a reliable source of credit for the agricultural industry.

“I loved every minute of it,” said O’Connor, who retired in 2016.

But the longer he was at Farm Credit, the further he moved away from his dream. That is, until a challenge from his daughter.

“She said dad, you challenged me to go to law school – and I become a judge. She looked me in the eye turned the tables on me by telling me to challenge myself by going back into broadcasting,” he said. “So I worked up the courage to talk to Art Rowbotham of Hall Communications.”

A few conservations with Rowbotham later, and O’Connor found himself on the air.

“I was lucky – he agreed there was a need for hometown content in the market,” said O’Connor. “Personally, I felt like I was home. It only took 20 years, but I went ahead and did it.”

And while local coaches and athletes would become regular subjects, O’Connor found that the list of sports celebrities would soon extend well beyond Polk County.

“Having John Wooden or Roger Staubach on is a thrill,” he said. “But so is having someone on like the Pouncey brothers, or Lake Gibson wrestling head coach Danny Walker. Plus, we can highlight things like team fundraisers and really make a difference.”

Between broadcasting stints, sports brought O’Connor something else – his future wife.

“I met her at a Gator Club meeting,” he said. “We married at a Gator Game during the tailgate party and a buddy’s son officiated.”

Their mixed family includes a daughter who is a doctor, another who is a judge, and a son who is president of Dixie Jet and Rotor, along with four grandchildren.

O’Connor also thanked those who have made his journey possible.

“Art and Bonny Rowbotham, that’s for sure. They gave me a chance and have kept my on,” he said. “And then there is Joe McCarthy my cohost and my producer, Eric Clark – Eric is the best. And the folks at the Ale House, who have been with us since the beginning. Can’t forget Allied Scrap and Foshee Jewelers, they’ve been with me for a long time.”