faba Posted January 13, 2018 Share Posted January 13, 2018 ESPN Facebook Twitter Keith Jackson, who was widely regarded as the voice of college football by several generations, died late Friday night, his family said. He was 89. Jackson spent some 50 years calling the action in a folksy, down-to-earth manner that made him one of the most popular play-by-play personalities in the business. "Keith Jackson is a man of great character and a legendary broadcaster," George Bodenheimer, then the president of ESPN and ABC Sports, said when Jackson retired in 2006. "For decades, his unmistakable style defined college football for millions of fans." Keith Jackson was credited with coining the phrase "The Granddaddy of Them All" for the Rose Bowl, where he made his final broadcast for ABC Sports in 2006. Richard Shotwell/Invision via AP Jackson got his start on the radio in 1952, broadcasting Washington State games, but went on to provide the national television soundtrack for the biggest games in the most storied stadiums. His colorful expressions -- "Whoa, Nellie," and "Big Uglies," among the many -- became part of the college football lexicon. He was credited with nicknaming the Rose Bowl "The Granddaddy of Them All" and Michigan's stadium "The Big House." Jackson began calling college football games for ABC Sports when it acquired the broadcast rights for NCAA football in 1966. He also worked NFL and NBA games, numerous World Series, 10 Olympics and auto racing. In addition, he traveled to 31 countries for "Wide World of Sports." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joewilly12 Posted January 13, 2018 Share Posted January 13, 2018 RIP Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JetPotato Posted January 13, 2018 Share Posted January 13, 2018 Simply the best. RIP. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
New York Mick Posted January 13, 2018 Share Posted January 13, 2018 I was thinking it was the Eagles TE that was really good in video games. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoJoTownsell1 Posted January 13, 2018 Share Posted January 13, 2018 Keith Jackson was the GOAT. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lith Posted January 13, 2018 Share Posted January 13, 2018 RIP. His was the voice, not only of of college football, but pretty much everything sports in the 70s and 80s: wide world of sports, Olympics, MLB, NBA. Even called the Mets 86 NLCS - game 6. Whoa Nellie. Nobody ever did it better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TuscanyTile2 Posted January 13, 2018 Share Posted January 13, 2018 RIP Keith Jackson. Definitely the voice of college football. The great ones are dying off. Dick Enberg, Keith Jackson, Pat Summerall. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peebag Posted January 13, 2018 Share Posted January 13, 2018 54 minutes ago, JetPotato said: Simply the best. RIP. This - made whatever game he announced better - was probably one of the best NBA announcers of all time Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TuscanyTile2 Posted January 13, 2018 Share Posted January 13, 2018 1 minute ago, peebag said: This - made whatever game he announced better - was probably one of the best NBA announcers of all time He was also a very good baseball announcer. I remember he called some playoff Met games back in 1986. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Obrien2Toon Posted January 13, 2018 Share Posted January 13, 2018 The best College has a lot of great ones, Brent, Verne, but he was the best Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jet Nut Posted January 13, 2018 Share Posted January 13, 2018 One of the original announcers on MNF, helped make it special. RIP Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ohio State NY Jets fan Posted January 13, 2018 Share Posted January 13, 2018 have to give respect Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jetsons Posted January 13, 2018 Share Posted January 13, 2018 R.I.P. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ohio State NY Jets fan Posted January 13, 2018 Share Posted January 13, 2018 1 hour ago, TuscanyTile2 said: He was also a very good baseball announcer. I remember he called some playoff Met games back in 1986. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joewilly12 Posted January 13, 2018 Share Posted January 13, 2018 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigO Posted January 13, 2018 Share Posted January 13, 2018 Class act all the way. He will be missed RIP Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
section314 Posted January 13, 2018 Share Posted January 13, 2018 One of my favorite Keith Jackson moments is at the end of the 1998 Rose Bowl, as he is about to announce the game MVP, he said " I'm standing next to his proud daddy." It was Brian Griese, his longtime partner's son. Good stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fantasy Island Posted January 13, 2018 Share Posted January 13, 2018 He was biased. I remember him saying Tennessee had no chance against Miami in the 1986 Sugar Bowl and kept on saying it even as the score board showed otherwise. UT won 35-7. Best game I have ever watched. Jimmy Johnson was such a joy to watch as his No.2 team in the nation got dismantled. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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