Keith Jackson, folksy voice of college football, dies at 89

[Omega]

Excerpt from the LA Times:

Keith Jackson, the folksy voice of college football who for decades weaved backwoods wit through Saturday afternoon ABC broadcasts, has died. He was 89.

Jackson died Friday night, according to media reports.

In a 52-year broadcasting career, Jackson covered a wide-ranging array of sports for radio and TV, including a rowing competition in the former Soviet Union, but he was best known as ABC's voice of NCAA football — and for the homespun phrases he used in reporting it.

To Jackson, linemen were not guards and tackles, they were "the big uglies." Running backs didn't drop the ball, there was a "fuumm-bull!" Of an undersized player, he might say, "He's a little-bitty thing, a bantam rooster. But he's young. If he keeps eatin' his cornbread, he'll be man-sized some day."

http://beta.latimes.com/sports/la-me-ke ... story.html

For those of us who are of a certain age, Mr. Jackson's voice on an autumnal Saturday afternoon was college football.

[TRENCHFOOT]

Whoa Nellie!! I loved listening to him. Best one of a kind College Football Broadcaster ever, IMO. RIP Keith, you will be greatly missed by many.

[cbolt]

Him and Kurt Gowdy were my favorites.

[YOU'RE TIGER BAIT]

WHOA NELLEY I LOVED HEARING THAT GUY CALL A BIG RIVALRY GAME.

[svac83]

back when we only had 3 stations loved hearing him do games. Throw it to studio with chris shrinkel(i am sure i butchered that name) and later jim lampley.

[noreply66]

Those were the good days. Those were the days when breaks were interesting to hear.

[countywide35]

the Rose Bowl wasn't the same without Jackson...... when the pre-show was ending in dramatic background music with Jackson infamous voice saying in the serious tone of " in the Granddaddy of em all"....voice of my childhood of NCAA football is gone............ but gottin more than used to now with our man Herbrstriet callin the big ones...

[svac83]

the Rose Bowl wasn't the same without Jackson...... when the pre-show was ending in dramatic background music with Jackson infamous voice saying in the serious tone of " in the Granddaddy of em all"....voice of my childhood of NCAA football is gone............ but gottin more than used to now with our man Herbrstriet callin the big ones...

I agree but you know. There is so much lost in the young talent today. Where these guys also grew up in a radio dominated world they really knew how to describe the game in the moment you could close your eyes or be in the other room and you could still envision the picture just from there description. that is pretty much a lost art. Even guys who do baseball and things on radio now are not nearly as descriptive.

sort of like Al mcquire was dick vitalle before most of the world had seen a personality like Dick Vitale.

[dazed&confused]

Best announcer to ever don the gold jacket of ABC Sports. He and Enberg were truly in a different class.