Keith Jackson | |
|---|---|
 Jackson atFalcon Stadium in 1986 | |
| Born | Keith Max Jackson (1928-10-18)October 18, 1928 |
| Died | January 12, 2018(2018-01-12) (aged 89) |
| Alma mater | Washington State University |
| Occupation(s) | Sports commentator, journalist, author, radio personality |
| Years active | 1952–2006 |
| Spouse | Turi Ann Jackson (m. 1954-2018; his death)[1] |
| Children | 3 |
| Military career | |
| Allegiance |  United States |
| Branch |  United States Marine Corps |
| Years of service | 1946–1950[2] |
| Unit | United States Marine Corps Aviation |
| Battles / wars | Cold War |
Keith Max Jackson (October 18, 1928 – January 12, 2018)[3] was an American sports commentator, journalist, author, and radio personality, known for his career withABC Sports (1966–2006). While he covered a variety of sports over his career, he is best known for his coverage ofcollege football from 1952 until 2006 and his distinctive voice,[4] that according to Steve Kelley inThe Seattle Times was "a throwback voice, deep and operatic. A voice that was to college football whatEdward R. Murrow's was to war. It was the voice of ultimate authority in his profession."[5]
A farmer's son,[6] Jackson was born inRoopville, Georgia and grew up on a farm outsideCarrollton, near theAlabama state line.[7] He was the only surviving child in a poor family and grew up listening to sports on the radio.[7] After enlisting and serving as a mechanic[6] in theUnited States Marine Corps, he attendedWashington State University inPullman under theG.I. Bill.[8] Jackson began as apolitical science major, but he became interested in broadcasting.[9] He graduated in 1954 with a degree in speech communications.[10]
Though best known for his college football broadcasts, Jackson announced numerous other sports for ABC throughout his career, includingMajor League Baseball,NBA basketball,boxing,auto racing,PGA Tour golf, theUSFL, and theOlympic Games. He briefly workedcollege basketball withDick Vitale.[11] Jackson also served as the pregame, halftime, and postgame anchor for ABC's coverage ofSuper Bowl XXII in 1988. During his on-air tenure, he is credited with nicknaming theRose Bowl as "The Grandaddy of Them All" andMichigan Stadium as "The Big House".[12]
Jackson began his career as a broadcaster in 1952, when he called a game betweenStanford andWashington State on the Tidewater Associated Oil Co. radio network. He then worked forKOMO radio inSeattle, and later forKOMO-TV from 1954 to 1964 as co-anchor for their first news team (first co-anchor news team on the West Coast) coveringSeafairhydroplane races,minor leagueSeattle Rainiers baseball games, andUniversity of Washingtonfootball games. In 1958, Jackson became the first American sports announcer to broadcast an event from theSoviet Union, acrew race between theWashington Huskies and a Soviet team.[13] Despite heavy suspicion and numerous hurdles by the Soviet authorities, Jackson and his cohorts were able to cover the race: the first ever American sports victory on Russian soil.[14]
Jackson became a radio news correspondent forABC News Radio and sports director of ABC Radio West in 1964 before joining ABC Sports in 1966.[7] He helpedWalter Cronkite cover the1964 Republican National Convention inSan Francisco.[13]
In the early 1960s, Jackson coveredAmerican Football League games.[7] In1970, he was chosen to be the first play-by-play announcer onMonday Night Football covering theNFL, but he remained in that capacity only for the program's first season.[7]Frank Gifford was ABC's initial target, but could not get out of hisCBS contract until after the 1970 season. In1971, however, Gifford landed the job. Jackson found out that he had been taken off theMonday Night package from 38 messages, not fromRoone Arledge himself. This incident led to some contention between Jackson and the brass at ABC.[15] With Gifford's death in August 2015, Jackson became the last surviving member of the broadcast teams that calledMNF games from the early 1970s.
Jackson was the lead play-by-play announcer for theUnited States Football League broadcasts onABC[16] from1983 to1985. He was paired withLynn Swann andTim Brant. He called all three championship games in the league's short history.
As previously mentioned, for ABC's broadcast ofSuper Bowl XXII at the end of the1987 season, Jackson served as the host for the pregame, halftime, and postgame coverage.
Jackson was involved in theABC coverage of the1972 Summer Olympics and continued to contribute even whenan attack by Palestinian terrorists transformed the coverage from that of a typical sporting event to a greater international and historical news event.[17] In all, he covered a total of 10Summer andWinter Olympic Games.[13] Jackson coveredswimming at the 1972 Summer Olympics andtrack and field at the1976 Summer Olympics. He coveredspeed-skating during the1980 Winter Olympics featuringEric Heiden. He was offered the position of play-by-play forhockey, but turned it down (the position ultimately went toAl Michaels). Jackson called speed skating and ski jumping at the1984 Winter Olympics. He coveredbasketball in1984. He was the weekend afternoon host for ABC's final Olympics in1988 fromCalgary.[15]
He wasABC's lead basketball play-by-play announcer (succeedingChris Schenkel in the role) with legendary NBA playerBill Russell[18] for two years[15] (1971-1973) until ABC lost the NBA broadcasting rights toCBS following the conclusion of the1973 Finals.
Jackson was a regular part of ABC's popularWide World of Sports (WWOS), covering both popular sports and obscure events like wrist wrestling.[9] ForWWOS he coveredEvel Knievel's successful jump atExhibition Stadium, inToronto, Ontario, Canada, on August 20, 1974;[19] He also handledWWOS' first coverage of boxerSugar Ray Leonard at the North American Continental Boxing Championships on July 26, 1975, who Jackson called a young boxer to watch.[20] He teamed withJackie Stewart andChris Economaki in (WWOS) coverage of auto racing; among the notable events covered by Jackson was the 1974Firecracker 400 atDaytona International Speedway[21] and the1975 Indianapolis 500.[22] In the mid-1970s, Jackson also broadcast theUnited States Grand Prix motocross races fromCarlsbad, California.
Inbaseball, he alongside former Mets, Phillies, Yankees, and Cardinals broadcasterTim McCarver called the famous 16-inning Game Six of the1986 National League Championship Series[23] between theNew York Mets andHouston Astros. That turned out to be the final Major League Baseball game that Jackson would broadcast. Jackson had previously broadcast ABC's coverage of the1977,1979, and1981 World Series (Jackson split play-by-play duties withAl Michaels for the latter two with Jackson calling the games at theAmerican League site), the1978,1980, and1982 All-Star Game (again, sharing play-by-play duties with Michaels for the latter two), the1980 National League Championship Series, the1976,1978 and1982 American League Championship Series, the1981 American League Division Series, and the1978 American League East tie-breaker game between theNew York Yankees andBoston Red Sox (alongsideDon Drysdale). Jackson also called variousMonday Night Baseball and other regular-season games for ABC throughout the late 1970s and early 1980s.[24]
Jackson's lead role on ABC'scollege football coverage occasionally interfered with his postseason baseball commitments.[25] For instance, he was unavailable to call Game 1 of the 1976 ALCS because he had just finished calling anOklahoma vs. Texascollege football game for ABC. Thus,Bob Uecker filled in for Jackson for Game 1. In 1978, Jackson called another Oklahoma-Texas football game for ABC on the afternoon of October 7, then flew to New York, arriving just in time to call Game 4 of the1978 ALCS that same night. On October 11, 1980, Jackson once again called an Oklahoma-Texas football game for ABC in the afternoon, then flew to Houston to call Game 4 of the1980 National League Championship Series. In the meantime, Drysdale filled in for him on play-by-play for the early innings. On October 10, 1981, he called another Oklahoma v. Texas college football game forABC and missed Game 4 of the ALCS. Again, Drysdale filled-in for him on play-by-play in his absence alongside color commentatorHoward Cosell.[25]
Starting in1987, he was ABC's leadplay-by-play announcer forcollege basketball, teaming with analystDick Vitale. This partnership lasted until1992.[15]
Jackson received the most acclaim for his coverage ofcollege football. He genuinely enjoyed the sport and its purity.[15] Jackson began announcing college football when television play-by-play announcers did not always have regular analysts.[26] He would only once miss working a college season in his over 50 years (when he served as play-by-play announcer during the inaugural season ofMonday Night Football), beginning in 1952.[7] Jackson was joined in the booth byJoe Paterno for the1974 Michigan-Ohio State game inColumbus, whileWoody Hayes accompanied him for the1974 Notre Dame-USC game.[27]In his many years covering college football, Jackson was paired with many color commentators, includingJackie Jensen (1966–1968),Lee Grosscup (1972–1973),Bud Wilkinson (1969–1975),Darrell Royal (1974),Ara Parseghian (1975–1980),Frank Broyles (1978–1985),Lynn Swann (1984–1985),Tim Brant (1986, 2000–2002),Bob Griese (1987–1999), andDan Fouts (2002–2005). Jackson called 16Sugar Bowls and 15Rose Bowls for ABC.[28]
For many years, he was assigned by ABC to the primary national game of the week. His quirky expressions such as"Whoa, Nellie!","Fum-BLE!" and"Hold the phonnnnne!" (following a penalty flag) are often the subject of comedic imitation. Though he greatly popularized it, Jackson notes that he learned the term"Whoa, Nellie" from earlier television announcerDick Lane.[13] He has often referred to offensive and defensive line players as theBig Uglies, or to an individual by saying"That guy...is a hoss" (horse). Jackson is also credited with coining the nickname forMichigan Stadium,The Big House.[29] In the season before his first retirement, during what was thought to be his final game at The Big House, theMichigan Marching Band's halftime show concluded by spelling out "Thanks Keith" across the field. The 111,019 fans turned toward the press box, stood up and cheered for the commentator. As a part of the halftime event former Michigan coach Bo Schembechler presented Jackson with a jersey with "The Big House" across the front and a Michigan football helmet.[29]
During the mid-'80s, he began falling out of favor with ABC executives due to the rise of stars such asAl Michaels andJim Lampley. Jackson's contract expired after the1986 Sugar Bowl. He had a 3-month "retirement" until new ABC Sports PresidentDennis Swanson personally offered him a 3-year contract, which he accepted.[15]
In the 1990s, Jackson recorded videos for the centennial of theAlabama Crimson Tide. In2006, Jackson introduced theNebraska Cornhuskers' "Tunnel Walk" video on the stadium "HuskerVision" screens. This video played before every home game at Memorial Stadium in the 2006 season. It was also used for one home game in 2007, againstTexas A&M. On September 26, 2009, for the 300th consecutive sellout of Memorial Stadium, Jackson again provided a video tribute to the fans of Nebraska.[30]
Jackson's connections to the University of Nebraska remain strong. It was Jackson himself that the university contacted when designing its new press box facility—Jackson's advice included a recommendation that it include a separate restroom inside the broadcast booth, as few if any broadcast booths had any suitable restroom facilities. When Jackson broadcast the Nebraska-California game the following season (the debut of the Cornhuskers' new pressbox), he found a restroom in the booth with a sign reading "The Keith Jackson Memorial Bippy." The sign was a joke from Jackson's longtime friend, Nebraska sports information director Don Bryant. The name stuck, and a permanent plaque was put up next to the restroom door that reads "The Keith Jackson Toilet Facility – Dedicated Sept 11, 1999".[30]
Jackson would call the1972 USC Trojans football team the greatest team he ever saw.[31] Jackson, who was in his first year in ABC football broadcasting narrating the taped highlights of the1967 USC vs. UCLA football game, declared it many years later to be the greatest game he has ever seen.[32]
Jackson's career was not free of incidents. During the1978 Gator Bowl, Jackson missedOhio State Head Coach Woody Hayes' infamous punch ofClemson defensive lineman Charlie Bauman. Bauman had intercepted a pass and was pushed out of bounds on the Ohio State sidelines, and a frustrated Hayes threw a forearm at Bauman's throat. Jackson and color commentatorAra Parseghian failed to see or comment on Hayes' actions, which had been captured from a different vantage point on camera. No replay of the actual incident was available in the booth during the telecast, as the television crew was working with limited replay capability.[33] In addition to this, no sideline reporter was available to provide information on the cause of the unsportsmanlike penalties that occurred as a result.[34] This led to accusations that Jackson was protecting Hayes, who was later fired for the incident.[7]
Approaching his 70th birthday, Jackson announced his first retirement from college football at the end of the1998 season and his intention to live full-time at his home in California. Choosing the firstBCS National Championship Game as his last broadcast, Jackson called the 1999 National Championship at theFiesta Bowl betweenTennessee andFlorida State. He concluded the program by stating "Tennessee 23, Florida State 16. And so it is done. I say goodbye to all of you. God bless and good night."[9]
Jackson rescinded his decision the following fall and began to do a more limited schedule of games,[35] teamed withDan Fouts,Tim Brant, and later Fouts again, almost exclusively sticking to venues on theWest Coast, closer to his home inCalifornia. Two notable exceptions were the2003Michigan–Ohio State and the 2005Oklahoma vs. Texas game. Each was the 100th meeting between the two archrivals. He strongly hinted that he was interested in retiring for good after the2005 season, tellingThe New York Times that he was feeling his age after 53 seasons and had become upset at the increased number of mistakes in his play calling in the last few years.[36] ABC tried convincing Jackson to stay, but his decision was firm.[37] He officially announced his retirement on April 27, 2006, noting he did not want to "die in a stadium parking lot."[11] His last game call was the iconic2006 Rose Bowl featuringTexas vs.Southern California in theBCS National Championship Game, widely considered one off the greatest college football games of all time.[38][39][40] The game was the last college football game shown on ABC under the "ABC Sports" brand, as ABC Sports was integrated with ESPN the following summer and is now known asESPN on ABC.[41]
In March 2010, theBig Ten Conference announced that Jackson would host a 20-episode series calledBig Ten Icons for theBig Ten Network which would highlight what the Big Ten Conference considers the league's top 50 student-athletes. The series was presented countdown style, and the top Big Ten student athlete was revealed during a program broadcast during the 2011Big Ten Basketball tournament.[42]
In 1999, theNational Football Foundation awarded Jackson theGold Medal Award, its highest honor.[43] The same year he was inducted into theRose Bowl Hall of Fame for his many years of contribution to "The Granddaddy of Them All".[44] The Edward R. Murrow School of Communication at Washington State University awarded their alumnus with the Murrow Award for top leaders in the communication industry in 1999;[45] Jackson was a charter member of the WSU Foundation, founded in 1979, provided scholarship money to the Murrow School and chaired the fund-raising drive for the school's alumni center.[9] In 1994, Jackson was inducted into theAmerican Sportscasters Association Hall of Fame.[46] On April 24, 1995, he was inducted into theNational Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association Hall of Fame, having won its National Sportscaster of the Year five successive times.[17] TheAmerican Football Coaches Association awarded him itsAmos Alonzo Stagg Award in 1993 as an individual "whose services have been outstanding in the advancement of the best interests of football."[47] He was the first sports announcer to receive the Stagg award.[13]
LongtimePenn State Head CoachJoe Paterno said of Jackson: "I don't think you could say that there is any one person who is not a coach, athletic director or administrator who has done more for college football than Keith Jackson".[13]Michigan Head CoachLloyd Carr described Jackson as "a symbol of all the good things in college football".[13]
TheRose Bowl stadium's radio and TV booths were renamed "The Keith Jackson Broadcast Center" in December 2015.[48]
In 2010, Jackson was awarded the honorary Doctor of Humane Letters (L.H.D.) fromWhittier College.[49]
In 2019, he was posthumously inducted into theGeorgia Sports Hall of Fame.[50]
Jackson had a minor career as an actor, often either playing himself, as on an episode ofCoach; or a sportscaster like himself, as inThe Fortune Cookie (1966), appearing in the first speaking role of the film "Football Announcer" as a CBS play-by-play man, a network for whom he never worked. He has also appeared in and narrated several sportsdocumentaries. His play-by-play of the1977 World Series is used in the background of theSpike Lee film,Summer of Sam (1999). In 2007, he appeared in clips and voice on theESPN original series,The Bronx Is Burning, featuring clips from ABC'sMonday Night Baseball, and ABC Sports' coverage of the1977 World Series.[citation needed]
Jackson has appeared in numerous commercials, especially in the latter stages of his career. He once parodied his broadcast persona for aMiller Lite beer commercial, in which he played the officiating minister at a wedding, finishing with his famous line, "Whoa, Nellie!"[51] He also appeared in commercials forShoney's, a chain of family-style restaurants well known in the Southeast, especially in his native Georgia. Jackson appeared in "The Legend ofGatorade" ads, which he humorously alluded to during his live coverage of the2006 Rose Bowl. In 2006, he also was shown in a commercial forIce Breakers' Ice Cubes withHilary Duff,Haylie Duff andJoey Lawrence, again contributing his famous "Whoa, Nellie!"[52]
Jackson was portrayed by actorShuler Hensley in the 2002 made-for-cable filmMonday Night Mayhem, which aired onTNT. This film told the story of the initial seasons ofMonday Night Football.[53]
Jackson and his wife, Turi Ann, resided inCalifornia and also spent time inBritish Columbia, where they owned a vacation property. They had three children, Melanie Ann, Lindsey and Christopher.[54] At the time of his death, he resided in theSherman Oaks area of Los Angeles.[55] On the subject of writing a book, Jackson admitted that he'd considered it, but joked that he would only sit down and work on one if he were to ever lose his golf swing.[56]
Jackson died on January 12, 2018, at the age of 89.[57][58][6]
| Media offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by None | Monday Night Football play-by-play announcer 1970 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Lead play-by-play announcer,ABC College Football 1974–1998 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Lead play-by-play announcer,ABC College Football 2002 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Lead play-by-play announcer,ABC College Football 2005 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Television voice of the Indianapolis 500 1975 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | World Series network television play-by-play announcer (withAl Michaels in1979 and1981; concurrent withJoe Garagiola in odd numbered years) 1977–1981 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Play-by-play announcer,NBA Finals 1972–1973 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by None | Play-by-play announcer, BCS National Championship Game 1999 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Play-by-play announcer, BCS National Championship Game 2002–2003 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Play-by-play announcer, BCS National Championship Game 2006 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Play-by-play announcer,Rose Bowl 1989–2006 (except1993,1997,2003) | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Lead play-by-play announcer, Major League Baseball on ABC 1977–1982 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | #2 play-by-play announcer, Major League Baseball on ABC 1986 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
