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Best radio team sports network broadcasts in the South
Posted on 5/16/20 at 12:23 pm
Posted on 5/16/20 at 12:23 pm
I have had the pleasure of listening to radio broadcasts of SEC games and those of other Southern teams since the early 1960's. Some of those that stand out over the years include Cawood Ledford, Larry Munson, Gene Deckerhoff, John Forney, Eli Gold, John Ferguson, Buddy Rutledge, Jim Fyffe, Rod Bramlett, etc. I'm sure there are others that stand out for many of you. I'd be curious to learn who your favorite team announcers were and why.
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Posted on 5/16/20 at 12:34 pm to EssexTiger
I’ve listened to Chris Blair and Jim Hawthorne for LSU, Eli Gold for Bama, Rod Bramlett for Auburn, and whoever does Tennessee and Florida. They are all amazing compared to whoever does Michigan. I listened to the broadcast on the road when they played Florida and it was fricking horrible.
Posted on 5/16/20 at 12:54 pm to EssexTiger
Loved Forney, Layton,and Duncan while growing up.
As a Bama fan, props to the great John Ward.
As a Bama fan, props to the great John Ward.
Posted on 5/16/20 at 1:08 pm to footswitch
When I was a kid in Pa. in the 60's I use to turn my little portable transistor on on cold fall and winter eves and listen to Cawood Ledford. Never liked KY, and always hoped they'd lose, but Ledford was, and is to this day, the most captivating and interesting broadcaster I ever heard, bar none, in any sport. He was incomparable, especially in basketball.
Posted on 5/16/20 at 1:29 pm to EssexTiger
Going against the actual topic but: Eli Gold is terrible and I'll die on that hill. I really hope Chris Stewart is able to fully recover from his health issues and can take over sometime soon.
Posted on 5/16/20 at 1:33 pm to EssexTiger
John Ward was tGOAT and Kesling has been about as bad of a replacement as they could’ve ever hired
Posted on 5/16/20 at 1:37 pm to EssexTiger
Back in the day I enjoyed listening to MSU's Jack Cristil, LSU's Jim Hawthorne & UT's John Ward on the AM radio stations.
Great descriptions of the action, making you feel as if you were there, outstanding personalities.
Eli Gold has grown on me as time has gone by.
Great descriptions of the action, making you feel as if you were there, outstanding personalities.
Eli Gold has grown on me as time has gone by.
Posted on 5/16/20 at 1:52 pm to EssexTiger
It was definitely the golden age with all those be guys.
In the days of NCAA TV restrictions,the radio was your only option outside of attending.
Ward,Fyffe and Munson were all legends. Deckerhoff is still great IMO as is Eli Gold although I hear Bama fans continually bitch about em.
In the days of NCAA TV restrictions,the radio was your only option outside of attending.
Ward,Fyffe and Munson were all legends. Deckerhoff is still great IMO as is Eli Gold although I hear Bama fans continually bitch about em.
This post was edited on 5/16/20 at 1:53 pm
Posted on 5/16/20 at 2:04 pm to EssexTiger
Munson, Fyffe and the "give him six" guy.. no equals
Posted on 5/16/20 at 2:16 pm to RD Dawg
I recall seeing John Ward broadcast an Auburn vs UT basketball game at Auburn in Memorial Coliseum 1974. He sat entirely alone in an upper corner of the Coliseum to call the game. I never saw anyone else call a game like that. He was special.
Posted on 5/16/20 at 2:40 pm to EssexTiger
quote:
He sat entirely alone in an upper corner of the Coliseum to call the game. I never saw anyone else call a game like that. He was special
That's a pretty amazing thing to do with basketball and that far away from the action
Posted on 5/16/20 at 2:56 pm to EssexTiger
Perhaps because he was the first LSU broadcaster I heard, John Ferguson is my favorite LSU broadcaster. I always like Jack Cristal. But I am not a fan of Eli’s voice.
Posted on 5/16/20 at 3:22 pm to tigerinridgeland
I used to listen to Hap Glaudy back in the day. WWL had some great programming.
Posted on 5/16/20 at 3:28 pm to EssexTiger
Paul Eells was the GOAT. RIP.
Posted on 5/16/20 at 3:28 pm to EssexTiger
Jack Cristil State
Posted on 5/16/20 at 3:35 pm to EssexTiger
Jack Cristil was the best at describing the action without getting ahead of himself. I think that is God given talent that you either have or you don’t. It is not learnable.
When he was calling a game, you could close your eyes and see the action in your mind. He was that descriptive. He was great at football and basketball, which to me is much harder than football because it moves so much faster.
The St. Louis Cardinal’s baseball organization tried to lure Cristil from State but he chose to stay. He called State football games from 1953-2011. 58 years which seems almost not even possible. I mean I know a few others have had similar lengthy careers but going forward I doubt we see anybody even close to approaching that kind of longevity with the same school.
Even in the later years when his health was failing and his eyes did not see as well, he was still very good.
When he was calling a game, you could close your eyes and see the action in your mind. He was that descriptive. He was great at football and basketball, which to me is much harder than football because it moves so much faster.
The St. Louis Cardinal’s baseball organization tried to lure Cristil from State but he chose to stay. He called State football games from 1953-2011. 58 years which seems almost not even possible. I mean I know a few others have had similar lengthy careers but going forward I doubt we see anybody even close to approaching that kind of longevity with the same school.
Even in the later years when his health was failing and his eyes did not see as well, he was still very good.
Posted on 5/16/20 at 3:41 pm to BamaDude06
Eli Gold has a great voice, but his play by play for Football is hard to listen to. He rarely knows down and distance and you can not tell how much yardage each play produced. He is very good at NASCAR and Hockey.
This post was edited on 5/16/20 at 3:43 pm
Posted on 5/16/20 at 3:43 pm to EssexTiger
Paul Kennedy and Doug Layton were so good. Their call after "the kick" was so awesome. Never will understand why Kennedy was let go for Eli Gold.
Posted on 5/16/20 at 3:50 pm to RD Dawg
It was amazing. Ward was not at the top of the Coliseum, but alone in the corner on one of the wider walk around pathways that looped around the Coliseum. No fans in the area around him. I would have expected him to have called the game from the floor and was surprised to see where he was located for the broadcast. Otherwise, all I remember is him being a smaller guy. I think we lost the game. That was the UT era of Bernard King and Ernie Grunfeld.
Posted on 5/16/20 at 5:00 pm to EssexTiger
I remember noone being able to draw Cawood Ledford away from his beloved Wildcats.... even the Chicago Bulls during MJ's glory days. 40-50 years of service to them. It all began for him to in one of the meanest and poorest towns in America at the time, Harlan, Ky., where he was from.
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