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Keith Jackson: Legendary broadcaster passes away at 89 years old

By Benjamin Chase

CENTURY CITY, CA - JANUARY 25: Sportscaster Keith Jackson speaks onstage at the 66th Annual Directors Guild Of America Awards held at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza on January 25, 2014 in Century City, California. (Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for DGA)
CENTURY CITY, CA - JANUARY 25: Sportscaster Keith Jackson speaks onstage at the 66th Annual Directors Guild Of America Awards held at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza on January 25, 2014 in Century City, California. (Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for DGA) /
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Legendary broadcaster Keith Jackson passed away early Saturday morning. Known for his college football broadcasting, Jackson also covered some of the greatest baseball events of the last 50 years.

Less than a month after losing fellow broadcasting icon Dick Enberg, the airwaves have lost another legend as Keith Jackson passed away. While Jackson’s “Whoa, Nellie!” was one of the most iconic catchphrases in college football, he has been the voice behind many major MLB moments as well.

Jackson’s iconic career

Keith Jackson began his broadcasting career in 1952. His final broadcast was in 2006, the BCS National Championship game that season between USC and Texas.

In between, Jackson covered an incredible amount of events.

He was the first play-by-play man for Monday Night Football on ABC for the NFL. He also was the lead play-by-play announcer for the USFL during its short run, calling all three championship games along with other broadcasts on ABC.

Jackson was part of the coverage of the 1972 and 1976 Summer Olympics, and he covered the 1980, 1984, and 1988 Winter Olympics. He reportedly was the first choice to broadcast hockey for the 1980 games, but turned it down, leading to Al Michaels’ legendary call of the US/USSR game.

Jackson even paired alongside Dick Vitale as ABC’s lead college basketball team for 5 years in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

The area where he made his biggest contribution was definitely college football. Jackson covered college football for the entirety of his career, and his “Woah, Nellie” and “Hold the phone!” catchphrases are well known, as is his pacing and storytelling style.

Jackson was also iconic in two major games within college football. He brought significance to the Michigan/Ohio State rivalry with his calls of the annual rivalry game, and he is credited with terming Michigan’s home stadium as “The Big House.”

Jackson was also involved with the Rose Bowl heavily, announcing 15 of the games in his career. He is credited with terming the Rose Bowl as “The Granddaddy of Them All,” a phrase used to describe the game to this day by broadcasters.

Keith Jackson in baseball

Jackson was involved in baseball with ABC during the 1970s and 1980s, calling multiple major games along the way.

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He would end up calling three World Series (1977, 1979, 1981), three All-Star games (1978, 1980, 1982), two NLCS (1980, 1986), and three ALCS (1976, 1978, 1982).

Jackson’s most impressive game ended up being his last baseball call, the 16-inning sixth game of the 1986 NLCS between the New York Mets and Houston Astros.

His incredible pacing paired with Tim McCarver‘s storytelling during the broadcast to lead to one of the most well-known broadcasts for those who heard the call.

Jackson was a part of ABC’s expansion of baseball’s reach in the 1980s as well, working on the Monday Night Baseball broadcasts, attempting to bring baseball in the regular season into the weekday lineup rather than a weekend-only pigeonhole.

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Jackson leaves behind his wife Turi Ann, three grown children (Melanie, Lindsey, Christopher), and three grandchildren (Ian, Holly, Spencer). His amazing voice will be sorely missed!

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