Paul William "Bear" Bryant (September 11, 1913 – January 26, 1983) was an American college football player and coach. He was best known as the longtime head coach of the University of Alabama football team. During his 25-year tenure as Alabama's head coach, he amassed six national championships and thirteen conference championships. Upon his retirement in 1982, he held the record for most wins as head coach in collegiate football history with 323 wins, a record broken by John Gagliardi in 1996. Bryant's mark has since also been surpassed by his longtime friend Joe Paterno, by Eddie Robinson, and by Bobby Bowden. At the University of Alabama, the Paul W. Bryant Museum, Paul W. Bryant Hall, Paul W. Bryant Drive and Bryant–Denny Stadium are all named in his honor. He was also known for his trademark black and white houndstooth or gingham hat, deep voice, casually leaning up against the goal post during pre-game warmups, and frequently holding his rolled-up game plan while on the sidelines.

Before arriving at Alabama, Bryant was head football coach at the University of Maryland, the University of Kentucky, and Texas A&M University.

Early life[link]

Paul Bryant was the 11th of 12 children who were born to William Monroe and Ida Kilgore Bryant in Fordyce, Arkansas.^[1] His nickname stemmed from his having agreed to wrestle a captive bear during a theater promotion when he was 13 years old.^[2]

He attended Fordyce High School, where 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) tall Bryant, who as an adult would eventually stand 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m), began playing on the school's football team as an eighth grader. During his senior season, the team, with Bryant playing offensive line and defensive end, won the 1930 Arkansas state football championship.

College[link]

Bryant accepted a scholarship to play for the University of Alabama in 1931. Since he elected to leave high school before completing his diploma, Bryant had to enroll in a Tuscaloosa high school to finish his education during the fall semester while he practiced with the college team. Bryant played end for the Crimson Tide and was a participant on the school's 1934 National Championship team. Bryant was the self-described "other end" during his playing years with the team, playing opposite the big star, Don Hutson, who later became an NFL Hall-of-Famer. Bryant himself was second team All-SEC in 1934, and was third team all conference in both 1933 and 1935. Bryant played with a partially broken leg in a 1935 game against Tennessee.^[2] Bryant pledged the Sigma Nu social fraternity, and as a senior, he married Mary Harmon.^[2]

Bryant was selected in the fourth round by the Brooklyn Dodgers in the 1936 NFL Draft, but never played professionally.

Coaching career[link]

Assistant and North Carolina Pre-Flight[link]

After graduating in 1936, Bryant took a coaching job at Union University in Jackson, Tennessee, but he left that position when offered an assistant coaching position under Frank Thomas at the University of Alabama. Over the next four years, the team compiled a 29–5–3 record. In 1940, he left Alabama to become an assistant at Vanderbilt University under Henry Russell Sanders. After the 1941 season, Bryant was offered the head coaching job at the University of Arkansas. However, following the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Bryant joined the United States Navy. In 1942, he served as an assistant coach with the Georgia Pre-Flight Skycrackers.^[3] Bryant then served off North Africa, seeing no combat action. However, his ship, the civilian merchantman SS Uruguay was rammed by another ship and ordered to be abandoned. Bryant disobeyed the order, saving the lives of his men. Two hundred others died.^[4] He was later granted an honorable discharge to train recruits and coach the North Carolina Navy Pre-Flight football team.^[5] One of the players he coached for the Navy was the future Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback Otto Graham. While in the Navy, Bryant attained the rank of Lieutenant Commander.^[6]

University of Maryland[link]

In 1945, 32-year-old Bryant met Washington Redskins owner George Marshall at a cocktail party hosted by the Chicago Tribune, and said he had turned down offers for assistant coaching positions at Alabama and Georgia Tech. Bryant told Marshall that he was intent on becoming a head coach. Marshall put him in contact with Harry Clifton "Curley" Byrd, the president and former football coach of the University of Maryland.^[7]

After meeting with Byrd the next day, Bryant received the job as head coach of the Maryland Terrapins. In his only season at Maryland, Bryant led the team to a 6–2–1 record. However, Bryant and Byrd came into conflict. In the most prominent incident, while Bryant was on vacation, Byrd reinstated a player who had been suspended by Bryant for a violation of team rules. After the 1945 season, Bryant left Maryland to take over as head coach at the University of Kentucky.^[8]

University of Kentucky[link]

Bryant coached at the University of Kentucky for eight seasons. Under Bryant, Kentucky made its first bowl appearance (1947) and won its first Southeastern Conference title (1950). The 1950 Kentucky team concluded its season with a victory over Bud Wilkinson's #1 ranked Oklahoma Sooners in the Sugar Bowl. The living players from the 1950 team were honored during halftime of a game during the 2005 season. Bryant also led Kentucky to appearances in the Great Lakes Bowl, Orange Bowl, and Cotton Bowl Classic. Kentucky's final AP poll rankings under Bryant included #11 in 1949, #7 in 1950, #15 in 1951, #20 in 1952 and #16 in 1953. The 1950 season was Kentucky's highest rank until it finished #6 in the final 1977 AP poll.

Texas A&M University[link]

In 1954, Bryant accepted the head coaching job at Texas A&M University. He also served as athletic director while at A&M.^[2]

The Aggies suffered through a grueling 1-9 initial season which began with the infamous training camp in Junction, Texas. The “survivors” were given the name “Junction Boys.” Two years later, Bryant led the team to the Southwest Conference championship with a 34–21 victory over the University of Texas at Austin. The following year, 1957, Bryant's star back John David Crow won the Heisman Trophy (the only Bryant player to ever earn that award), and the Aggies were in title contention until they lost to the #20 Rice Owls in Houston, amid rumors that Alabama would be going after Bryant.

Again, as at Kentucky, Bryant attempted to integrate the Texas A&M squad. "We'll be the last football team in the Southwest Conference to integrate," he was told by a Texas A&M official. "Well," Bryant replied, "then that's where we're going to finish in football."^[9]

At the close of the 1957 season, having compiled an overall 25–14–2 record at Texas A&M, Bryant returned to Tuscaloosa to take the head coaching position, succeeding J.B. "Ears" Whitworth, as well as the athletic director job at Alabama.^[2]

University of Alabama[link]

Memorial of Bryant outside of Legion Field

Bryant took over the Alabama football team in 1958. When asked why he came to Alabama, he replied "Momma called. And when Momma calls, you just have to come runnin'." After winning a combined four games in the three years prior to Bryant's arrival, the Tide went 5–4–1 in Bryant's first season.^[10] The next year, in 1959, Alabama beat Auburn and appeared in a bowl game, the first time either had happened in the last six years. In 1961, under his leadership, with quarterback Pat Trammell and football greats Lee Roy Jordan and Billy Neighbors, Alabama went 11–0 and defeated Arkansas in the Sugar Bowl to claim the national championship.

The next three years (1962–64) featured Joe Namath at quarterback and were among Bryant's finest. The 1962 season ended with a victory in the Orange Bowl over Bud Wilkinson's University of Oklahoma Sooners. The following year ended with a victory in the 1963 Sugar Bowl. In 1964, the Tide won another national championship, but lost to the University of Texas in the Orange Bowl, in the first nationally televised college game in color. The Crimson Tide would repeat as champions in 1965 after defeating Nebraska in the Orange Bowl. Coming off back-to-back national championship seasons, Bryant's Alabama team went undefeated in 1966, and defeated a strong Nebraska team 34–7 in the Sugar Bowl. However, Alabama finished third in the nation behind co-national champions Michigan State and Notre Dame, who had previously played to a 10–10 tie in a late regular season game.

The 1967 team was billed as another national championship contender with star quarterback Kenny Stabler returning, but the team stumbled out of the gate and tied Florida State 37–37 at Legion Field. The season never took off from there, with the Bryant-led Alabama team finishing 8–2–1, losing in the Cotton Bowl Classic to Texas A&M, coached by former Bryant player and assistant coach Gene Stallings. In 1968, Bryant again could not match his previous successes, as the team went 8–3, losing to the University of Missouri 35–10 in the Gator Bowl. The 1969 and 1970 teams finished 6–5 and 6–5–1 respectively.

After these disappointing efforts, many began to wonder if the 57-year-old Bryant was washed up. He himself began feeling the same way and considered either retiring from coaching or leaving college football for the NFL.

For years, Bryant was accused of racism for refusing to recruit black players, but he merely said that the prevailing social climate did not let him do this. He finally was able to convince the administration to allow him to do so after scheduling the Tide's 1970 season opener against a strong University of Southern California team led by black fullback Sam Cunningham. Cunningham rushed for 150 yards and three touchdowns in a 42–21 victory against the overmatched Tide. After that season, Bryant was able to recruit Wilbur Jackson as Alabama's first black scholarship player, and junior-college transfer John Mitchell became the first black man to play for Alabama. By 1973, one-third of the team's starters were black.

In 1971, Bryant began engineering a comeback to prove that he still had it. This included abandoning Alabama's old power offense for the newly fashionable wishbone formation. The change helped make the remainder of the decade a successful one for the Crimson Tide. That season, Alabama went undefeated and earned a #2 ranking, but lost to #1 Nebraska, 38–6 in the Orange Bowl. The team would go on to split national championships in 1973 (Notre Dame defeated Alabama in the 1973 Sugar Bowl, which led the UPI to stop giving national championships until after all the games for the season had been played - including bowl games) and 1978 (despite losing a regular season matchup against co-national champion USC) and win it outright in 1979.

Bryant coached at Alabama for 25 years, winning six national titles (1961, 1964, 1965, 1973, 1978, and 1979) and thirteen SEC championships. Bryant's win over in-state rival Auburn University, coached by former Bryant assistant Pat Dye in November 1981 was Bryant's 315th as a head coach, which was the most of any head coach at that time. His all-time record as a coach was 323-85-17.

Retirement and death[link]

After the 1982 season, Bryant, who had turned 69 that September, decided to retire, stating, "This is my school, my alma mater. I love it and I love my players. But in my opinion, they deserved better coaching than they have been getting from me this year." His last regular season game was a 23–22 loss to Auburn and his last postseason game was a 21–15 victory in the Liberty Bowl in Memphis, Tennessee over the University of Illinois. After the game, Bryant was asked what he planned to do now that he was retired. He replied "Probably croak in a week." His reply proved ominous.

Four weeks after making that comment, and just one day after passing a routine medical checkup, on January 25, 1983, Bryant checked into Druid City Hospital in Tuscaloosa after experiencing chest pain. A day later, when being prepared for an electrocardiogram, he died after suffering a massive heart attack. First news of Bryant's death came from Bert Bank (WTBC Radio Tuscaloosa) and on the NBC Radio Network (anchored by Stan Martyn and reported by Stewart Stogel).^[11] On his hand at the time of his death was the only piece of jewelry he ever wore, a gold ring inscribed "The Junction Boys".^[12] He is interred at Birmingham's Elmwood Cemetery. A month after his death, Bryant was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian award, by President Ronald Reagan. A moment of silence was held prior to Super Bowl XVII, played four days after Bryant's passing.

Defamation suit[link]

In 1962, Bryant denounced The Saturday Evening Post for printing an article that charged him with encouraging his players to "engage in brutality" in a 1961 game against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. The magazine claimed that Bryant and Georgia Bulldogs coach Wally Butts had conspired to fix their 1962 game together in Alabama's favor. Butts, also on Bryant's behalf, sued Curtis Publishing Co. for defamation. The case went to the Supreme Court. As a result of Curtis Publishing Co. v. Butts 388 U.S. 130 (1967),^[13] Curtis was ordered to pay $3,060,000 in damages to the plaintiff.

Honors and awards[link]

• 12-time Southeastern Conference Coach of the Year
• Three-time National Coach of the Year in 1961, 1971 and 1973.^[14] The national coach of the year award was subsequently named the Paul "Bear" Bryant Award in his honor.
• Was named Head Coach of Sports Illustrated's NCAA Football All-Century Team.^[15]
• He received 1.5 votes for the Democratic Party Presidential nomination at the extremely contentious 1968 Democratic Convention
• In February 1983, Bryant was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Ronald Reagan.
• Bryant was honored with a U.S. postage stamp in 1996.
• Country singer Roger Hallmark recorded a tribute song in his honor.^[16]
• Charles Ghigna wrote a poem that appeared in the Birmingham-Post Herald in 1983 as a tribute to Bryant.
• Super Bowl XVII was dedicated to Bryant. A moment of silence was held in his memory during the pregame ceremonies. Some of his former players were on the rosters of both teams.

Legacy[link]

This section requires expansion.

Many of Bryant's former players and assistant coaches went on to become head coaches at the collegiate level and/or in the National Football League. Danny Ford, Howard Schnellenberger, and Gene Stallings all won national championships as head coaches for NCAA programs while Neil Callaway, Joey Jones, Mike Riley, David Cutcliffe, and Schnellenberger are active head coaches in the NCAA. Charles McClendon, Sylvester Croom, Jim Owens, Jackie Sherrill, and Pat Dye were also notable NCAA head coaches. Ozzie Newsome is active as the general manager of the Baltimore Ravens.

Head coaching record[link]

In his 38 seasons as a head coach, Bryant had 37 winning seasons and participated in a total of 29 postseason bowl games, including 24 consecutively at Alabama. He won 15 bowl games, including eight Sugar Bowls.

(*) Before the 1974, the final Coaches' Poll, also known then as the UPI Poll, was released before the bowl games, so a team that lost its bowl game could still claim the UPI national championship. This was changed as a result of Alabama claiming the 1973 Coaches' Poll national championship despite losing to Notre Dame in the Sugar Bowl.

See also[link]

Biography portal

• List of presidents of the American Football Coaches Association
• The Bear (1984 film)
• List of college football coaches with 200 wins

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Bear Bryant

• Paul W. Bryant Museum
• Bear Bryant at the College Football Hall of Fame
• Bear Bryant at the College Football Data Warehouse
• Bear Bryant at Find a Grave
• Paul "Bear" Bryant article, Encyclopedia of Alabama
• Summary of Bryant's record from RollTide.com

Keith Jackson (born October 18, 1928) is an American former sportscaster, known for his long career with ABC Sports (1966–2006), his coverage of college football (1952–2006), his style of folksy, down-to-earth commentary, and his distinctive voice, with its deep cadence, and operatic tone considered "like Edward R. Murrow reporting on World War II, the voice of ultimate authority in college football."^[1]

Biography[link]

Early life[link]

Keith Jackson was born on October 18, 1928 and grew up on a farm outside Carrollton, Georgia, near the Georgia-Alabama state line.^[2] The only surviving child in a poor family, he grew up listening to sports on the radio.^[2] After enlisting and serving in the U.S. Marine Corps, he attended Washington State University under the G.I. Bill.^[3] Jackson began as a political science major, but he became interested in broadcasting.^[4] He graduated in 1954 with a degree in Speech Communications.^[5]

Broadcast career[link]

Though best known for his college football broadcasts, Jackson announced numerous other sports for ABC throughout his career, including Major League Baseball, NBA basketball, boxing, auto racing, PGA Tour golf, the USFL, and the Olympic Games. He briefly worked college basketball with Dick Vitale.^[6] Jackson also served as the pregame/halftime/postgame anchor for ABC's coverage of Super Bowl XXII in 1988. During his onair tenure he is credited with nicknaming the Rose Bowl as "The Grandaddy of them All" and Michigan Stadium as "The Big House".^[7]

Early assignments[link]

Jackson began his career as a broadcaster at Washington State in 1952, when he called a radio game between Stanford and Washington State. He then worked for KOMO radio in Seattle, and later for KOMO-TV from 1954 to 1964 as co-anchor for their first news team (first co-anchor news team on the West Coast), covering Seafair hydroplane races, minor league Seattle Rainiers baseball games, and University of Washington Huskies football games. In 1958, Jackson became the first American sports announcer to broadcast an event from the Soviet Union, a crew race between the Washington Huskies and a Soviet team.^[8] 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.^[9] He became a radio news correspondent for ABC News Radio and sports director of ABC Radio West in 1964 before joining ABC Sports in 1966.^[2]

Jackson helped Walter Cronkite cover the 1964 Republican National Convention in San Francisco, California.^[8]

Professional football[link]

In the early 1960s, Jackson covered American Football League games.^[2] In 1970, he was chosen to be the first play-by-play announcer on Monday Night Football covering the NFL, but he remained in that capacity only for the program's first season.^[2] Frank Gifford was ABC's initial target but could not get out of his CBS contract until after the 1970 season. In 1971, however, Gifford landed the job. He found out that he had been taken off the Monday Night package from 38 messages, not from Roone Arledge himself. This led to some contention between him and the brass at ABC.^[10]

Jackson was the lead play-by-play announcer for the United States Football League broadcasts on ABC from 1983 to 1985. He was paired with Lynn Swann and Tim Brant. He called all three championship games in the league's short history.

Olympic Games[link]

Jackson was involved in the ABC coverage of the 1972 Summer Olympics and continued to contribute even when an attack by Palestinian terrorists transformed the coverage from that of a typical sporting event to a greater international and historical news event.^[11] In all, he covered a total of 10 Summer and Winter Olympic Games.^[8] He covered speed-skating during the 1980 Winter Olympics featuring Eric Heiden. Interestingly enough, he was offered the position of play-by-play for hockey, but turned it down (the position ultimately went to Al Michaels). He covered basketball in 1984.^[10]

NBA[link]

He was ABC's lead basketball play-by-play announcer with legendary NBA player Bill Russell for four years.^[10]

[edit] Wide World of Sports

Jackson was a regular part of ABC's popular Wide World of Sports (WWOS), covering both popular sports and obscure events like wrist wrestling.^[4] For WWOS he covered Evel Knievel's successful jump at Exhibition Stadium, in Toronto, Canada, on August 20, 1974;^[12] He also handled WWOS' first coverage of boxer Sugar Ray Leonard at the North American Continental Boxing Championships on July 26, 1975, who Jackson called a young boxer to watch.^[13] He teamed with Jackie Stewart and Chris Economaki in (WWOS) coverage of auto racing; among the notable events covered by Jackson was the 1974 Firecracker 400 at Daytona International Speedway.

Major League Baseball[link]

In baseball, Keith Jackson called (alongside Tim McCarver) the now famous 16-inning long sixth game of the 1986 National League Championship Series between the New York Mets and Houston Astros. That turned out to be the final Major League Baseball game that Jackson broadcast. Jackson had previously broadcast ABC's coverage of the 1977, 1979 and 1981 World Series (Jackson split play-by-play duties with Al Michaels for the latter two with Jackson calling the games at the American League site), the 1978, 1980 and 1982 All-Star Game (again, sharing play-by-play duties with Al Michaels for the latter two), the 1980 National League Championship Series, the 1976, 1978 and 1982 American League Championship Series, the 1981 American League Division Series between the New York Yankees and Milwaukee Brewers, and the 1978 American League East tie-breaker game between the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox alongside Don Drysdale. He also called various Monday Night Baseball and other regular-season games for ABC throughout the late 1970s and early '80s.

Jackson's role on ABC's college football coverage occasionally interfered with his postseason baseball commitments. For instance, he was unavailable to call Game 1 of the 1976 ALCS because he had just finished calling an Oklahoma-Texas college 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 October 7, then flew to New York, arriving just in time to call Game 4 of the ALCS that same night. On October 11, 1980, Jackson called once again called an Oklahoma-Texas football game for ABC in the afternoon, then flew to Houston to call Game 4 of the NLCS. In the meantime, Don Drysdale filled-in for Jackson on play-by-play for the early innings.

College basketball[link]

Starting in 1987, he was the ABC's lead play-by-play announcer for college basketball, teaming with analyst Dick Vitale. This partnership lasted until 1992.^[10]

College football[link]

For all his success, he received the most acclaim for his coverage of college football. He genuinely enjoyed the sport and the purity of it.^[10] Jackson began his ABC career at a time when television play-by-play announcers did not always have regular analysts. 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 of Monday Night Football), beginning in 1952.^[2] Jackson was joined in the booth by Joe Paterno for the 1974 Michigan-Ohio State game in Columbus, while Woody Hayes accompanied him for the 1974 Notre Dame-USC game.^[14] In his many years covering college football, Jackson was paired with a wide variety of color commentators, including Jackie Jensen (1966–1967), Lee Grosscup (1972), Bud Wilkinson (1969–1975), Ara Parseghian (1975–1979), Frank Broyles (1978–1985), Lynn Swann (1984–1985), Tim Brant (1986, 2001–2002), Bob Griese (1987–1999), and Dan Fouts (2002–2005). Jackson called 16 Sugar Bowls and 15 Rose Bowls during his time at ABC.

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 announcer Dick Lane.^[8] He has often referred to offensive and defensive line players as the Big Uglies, or to an individual by saying "That guy...is a hus" (horse). Jackson is also credited with coining the nickname for Michigan Stadium, The Big House.^[15] In the season before his first retirement, during what was thought to be his final game at The Big House, the Michigan 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.^[15]

During the mid-'80s, he began falling out of favor with ABC executives due to the rise of stars such as Al Michaels and Jim Lampley. Jackson's contract expired after the 1986 Sugar Bowl. He had a 3 month "retirement" until new ABC Sports President Dennis Swanson personally offered him a 3 year contract, which he accepted.^[10]

In the 1990s, Jackson recorded videos for the centennial of the Alabama Crimson Tide. In 2006, Jackson introduced the Nebraska 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, against Texas 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.

Jackson's connections to the University of Nebraska remain strong. It was Jackson himself that the university contacted when designing its new pressbox 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".

On November 3, 2007 during the half time of the Arkansas vs South Carolina game, Jackson was present in the press box at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium as the Master of Ceremonies for the retirement of and field dedication to long time ABC color commentator and partner Frank Broyles.

Jackson would call the 1972 Southern Cal Trojans the greatest team he ever saw.^[16] Jackson, who was in his first year in ABC football broadcasting narrating the taped highlights of the 1967 Southern Cal vs. UCLA football game, declared it many years later to be the greatest game he has ever seen.^[17]

Jackson's career was not free of incidents. During the 1978 Gator Bowl, Jackson missed Ohio State Head Coach Woody Hayes' infamous punch of Clemson 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 commentator Ara 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.^[18] In addition to this, no sideline reporter was available to provide information on the cause of the unsportsmanlike penalties that occurred as a result.^[19] This led to accusations that Jackson was protecting Hayes, who was later fired for the incident.^[2]

Retirement[link]

Jackson announced his first retirement from college football at the end of the 1998 season and his intention to live full time at his home in California. Choosing the 1999 National Championship at the Fiesta Bowl between Tennessee and Florida State as his last broadcast, 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."^[4] During the game, Jackson also verbally recognized that John Ward, Tennessee's long-time radio sportscaster, was also broadcasting his last football game for the Vols.

Jackson rescinded his decision the following fall and began to do a more limited schedule of games, teamed with Tim Brant and later Dan Fouts, almost exclusively sticking to venues on the West Coast, closer to his home in British Columbia. Two notable exceptions were the 2003 Michigan-Ohio State game and the 2005 Red River Rivalry. Both were the 100th meeting between two archrivals. He strongly hinted that he was interested in retiring for good after the 2005 season, telling The New York Times that he was feeling his age after 53 seasons.^[20] ABC tried to lure Jackson to stay, but he made up his mind.^[1] Jackson decided to retire for good on April 27, 2006, at age 77, noting he didn't want to die in a stadium parking lot.^[6] His last game call was the 2006 Rose Bowl featuring Texas vs. Southern Cal. Ironically, the game was the last for ABC Sports, as it was integrated with ESPN the following summer and is now known as ESPN on ABC.

[edit] Big 10 Icons

In March, 2010, the Big Ten Conference announced that Jackson would host a 20-episode series called Big 10 Icons which will highlight what the Big 10 Conference considers the league's top 50 student-athletes. The series will be presented countdown style, and the top Big Ten student athlete will be revealed during a program to be broadcast during the 2011 Big Ten Basketball Tournament.^[21]

Awards and honors[link]

In 1999, the National Football Foundation awarded Jackson the Gold Medal Award, its highest honor.^[22] The same year he was inducted into the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame for his many years of contribution to "The Granddaddy of Them All".^[23] 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;^[24] 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.^[4] In 1994, Jackson was inducted into the American Sportscasters Association Hall of Fame.^[25] On April 24, 1995, he was inducted into the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association Hall of Fame, having won its National Sportscaster of the Year five successive times.^[11] The American Football Coaches Association awarded him its Amos Alonzo Stagg Award in 1993 as an individual "whose services have been outstanding in the advancement of the best interests of football."^[26] He was the first sports announcer to receive the Stagg award.^[8]

Longtime Penn State Head Coach Joe 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".^[8] Michigan Head Coach Lloyd Carr described Jackson as "a symbol of all the good things in college football".^[8]

Film and television appearances[link]

Jackson has had a minor career as an actor, often either playing himself, as on an episode of Coach; or a sportscaster like himself, as in The 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 sports documentaries. His play-by-play of the 1977 World Series is used in the background of the Spike Lee film, Summer of Sam (1999). In 2007, he appeared in clips and voice on the ESPN original series, The Bronx Is Burning, featuring clips from ABC's Monday Night Baseball, and ABC Sports' coverage of the 1977 World Series.

Jackson has appeared in numerous commercials, especially in the latter stages of his career. He once parodied his broadcast persona for a Bud Light beer commercial, in which he played the officiating minister at a wedding, finishing with his famous line, "Whoa, Nellie!" He also appeared in commercials for Shoney's, a chain of family-style restaurants well known in the Southeast, especially in his native Georgia. Most recently, Jackson has appeared in "The Legend of Gatorade" ads, which he humorously alluded to during his live coverage of the 2006 Rose Bowl. In 2006, he also was shown in a commercial for Ice Breakers' Ice Cubes with Hilary Duff, Haylie Duff and Joey Lawrence, again contributing his famous "Whoa, Nellie!"

Jackson was portrayed by actor Shuler Hensley in the 2002 made-for-cable film Monday Night Mayhem, which aired on TNT. This film told the story of the initial seasons of Monday Night Football.

Personal[link]

Jackson is a long-time resident of California. He and his wife, Turi Ann, have three grown children and homes in the Los Angeles, California area and Pender Harbour, British Columbia, Canada.^[2]

On the subject of writing a book, Jackson has admitted that he's considered it, but joked that he would only sit down and work on one if he were to ever lose his golf swing.^[27]

Notable broadcasts[link]

1970s[link]

• September 21, 1970: First Monday Night Football game Browns beat the Jets
• 1971 Daytona 500 - Richard Petty won his 3rd Daytona 500.
• 1972 NBA Finals - Los Angeles Lakers won the title.
• 1972 Summer Olympics- U.S. swimmer Mark Spitz wins seven gold medals
• November 30, 1974: #6 USC vs. #5 Notre Dame - The "Earthquake Game"
• 1975 Indianapolis 500 - Bobby Unser won the race that was shortened by rain.
• 1976 Summer Olympics - Bruce Jenner wins the decathlon
• 1976 American League Championship Series - New York Yankees vs. Kansas City Royals (including Chris Chambliss' series-winning home run in the bottom of the ninth inning of Game 5 off of Mark Littell)
• October 22, 1977: #5 USC vs. #11 Notre Dame - The "Green Jersey Game"
• 1977 World Series - New York Yankees vs. Los Angeles Dodgers (including Reggie Jackson's 3 homers on 3 pitches).
• October 2, 1978: AL East Playoff - New York Yankees vs. Boston Red Sox (Bucky Dent's HR).
• December 29, 1978: Gator Bowl – Ohio State vs. Clemson (Woody Hayes' infamous last game)
• January 1, 1979: Sugar Bowl – #2 Alabama vs. #1 Penn State

1980s[link]

• January 1, 1981: Sugar Bowl - #1 Georgia vs. #4 Notre Dame
• 1980 Winter Olympics - U.S. speed skater Eric Heiden wins five gold medals
• November 28, 1981: Iron Bowl Alabama 28 vs Auburn 17 - Coach Paul "Bear" Bryant wins his 315th collegiate game as a head coach, surpassing Amos Alonzo Stagg as college football's winningest coach.
• October 17, 1981: Arkansas Razorbacks routed the #1 Texas Longhorns 42-11.
• January 1, 1983: Sugar Bowl - #1 Georgia vs. #2 Penn State
• 1984 Summer Olympics - The USA basketball team, led by Michael Jordan and Patrick Ewing, wins gold
• October 27, 1984: West Virginia 17-No. 19 Penn State 14
• 1986 National League Championship Series - New York Mets vs. Houston Astros (Inc. 16 inn. Game 6)
• November 30, 1985: Iron Bowl Alabama 25 vs Auburn 23 - The Kick
• May 1987: NASCAR The Winston all-star race won by Dale Earnhardt
• December 5, 1987: NCAA Basketball, Indiana vs. Kentucky, Bank One/Big Four Classic (with Dick Vitale).
• November 26, 1988: #1 Notre Dame vs. #2 Southern Cal
• February 19, 1989: NCAA Basketball, Indiana Hoosiers vs. Michigan Wolverines. Jay Edwards' last second shot to beat Michigan (with Dick Vitale.)
• September 16, 1989: #1 Notre Dame vs. #2 Michigan.

1990s[link]

• November 16, 1991: #2 Miami vs. #1 Florida State (a.k.a. "Wide Right I").
• January 1, 1992: Rose Bowl – #2 Washington vs. #3 Michigan (Washington won a split national championship)
• January 1, 1993: Sugar Bowl - #2 Alabama vs. #1 Miami
• September 24, 1994: Colorado at Michigan, the Westbrook Hail Mary game
• January 2, 1997: Sugar Bowl – #1 Florida State vs. #3 Florida for the national championship
• January 1, 1998: Rose Bowl – Michigan 21, Washington State 16 (With this game Michigan won a share of the 1997 National Championship)
• January 4, 1999: Fiesta Bowl – #1 Tennessee 23, #2 Florida State 16 in the first BCS National Championship Game

2000s[link]

• January 4, 2002: Rose Bowl – Miami (FL) vs. Nebraska in 2002 BCS National Championship Game
• September 2, 2002: Auburn at Southern Cal
• November 30, 2002: Notre Dame at Southern Cal
• January 3, 2003: Fiesta Bowl – Miami (FL) vs. Ohio State in 2003 BCS National Championship Game
• November 22, 2003: Ohio State at Michigan
• November 28, 2003: Nebraska at Colorado
• September 11, 2004: Colorado State at Southern Cal
• October 30, 2004: Oklahoma at Oklahoma State
• October 8, 2005: Oklahoma vs. Texas
• November 19, 2005: "The Big Game" (Stanford vs. California)
• December 29, 2005: Holiday Bowl - Oklahoma vs. Oregon
• January 4, 2006: Rose Bowl - Texas vs. Southern Cal in 2006 BCS National Championship Game

See also[link]

	Biography portal
	United States Marine Corps portal

References[link]

External links[link]

• Big Man on Campus, interview from the Sporting News
• Keith Jackson ABC Bio