Verne Lundquist

BY FORREST PREECE

Yes, this man, now in his eighties, is a legend who has lent his golden-throated talents to so many stellar moments in sports (remember the Nicklaus birdie putt at The Masters in 1986?) — and he is a member of the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association’s Hall of Fame. But I can tell you that he is just the same offscreen. I left my conversation with him feeling energized for the rest of the day.

Some of you will remember that one of Verne’s first jobs in sportscasting was with Austin’s KTBC-TV back in 1963. (By the way, Verne graduated from Austin High.) After calculating what his annual raises there would amount to in twenty years, he soon did an audition and moved to WOAI in San Antonio, where he anchored the 6 and 10 pm newscasts. He was missing sportscasting, though, and after three tryouts, he landed a post at WFAA in Dallas in September 1967, doing the sports at 6 and 10. Within a week, Tex Schramm had noticed his talent and after some negotiation, Verne was working on KRLD’s Cowboys broadcasts as well as handling his WFAA duties.

At this time, Verne was working with Blackie Sherrod, who was doing the color commentary. One day in 1969, Blackie went to Fayetteville for the UT-Arkansas “Shootout in the Ozarks” and then had to fly from there to do the CowboysSteelers game in Pittsburgh, which involved driving to Tulsa and catching two connecting flights over eight hours. Verne and another announcer caught up with Blackie in Pittsburgh and as they were waiting for the elevator in the Arcticcold stadium, a chunk of ice fell onto Blackie’s hat and he exclaimed, “I’m done with this stuff !” After that, Verne got promoted to doing color for the Cowboys and then to the play-by-play post, which he held from 1972-83.

His spectacular career has placed him among the all-time greats of his profession. He has been a key voice for NFL Films; with Scott Hamilton he announced the figure skating championships for the Winter Olympics three times (and was parodied on Saturday Night Live); and he was the lead play-by-play announcer for SEC games from 2000-2016. He also called many college basketball games, including NCAA Tournaments, and he is still announcing The Masters and the PGA Championship. While we were talking, I asked him about some current topics of interest.

ON UT MOVING TO THE SEC.

“They are gonna play with the big boys. I like it. College athletics is so convoluted right now. Especially with USC and UCLA going to the Big 10, I don’t know what’s going to be left of the Pac-12. This move makes sense on many levels. But I’m a traditionalist, and I want to see The Aggies and

Texas play again, somehow. And I hope they can preserve Texas vs Oklahoma, too. I don’t know if they can keep both of those rivalries on an annual basis, but I’d imagine that Texas/OU would take precedence over Texas vs. A&M. And if they go to a ninegame conference schedule and they’re in the West Division against Alabama, oh boy. I’m excited. I’ve seen speculation that there could eventually be four 20-team conferences. I guess it’s whatever ESPN dictates – I say that sadly and sarcastically. That is why CBS quit negotiating with the SEC. We just couldn’t stay up with ESPN. The last SEC broadcast for CBS will happen this year with the championship game.”

ON NIL AND THE TRANSFER PORTAL

“In principle, I agree with NIL (“Name-ImageLikeness”). I’ve always thought that the players deserve compensation. I totally understand the philosophy behind it. You have coaches making eight, nine, ten million a year and then leaving their kids in the lurch when the next best thing comes along, and the kids are forced to stay. But whew! I see the cars some of those guys are driving and I just shake my head. And that transfer portal. We grew up with the notion that a player stuck with his team – I mean, look at guys like Tommy Nobis and James Street and Steve Worster who bled orange. But then again, if the coaches can leave whenever they want, the players shouldn’t be subject to indentured servitude.”

TWO OF HIS FAVORITE CALLS, BACK-TO-BACK.

In 2013, Verne and Gary Danielson were announcing the Georgia-Auburn game. Auburn was behind with almost no time left and put up a 50-yard Hail Mary pass on 4th and 18. Two Georgia defenders went for the interception and tipped the ball to the Auburn running back who caught it and ran in for the game-winning touchdown. Gary told Verne, “That was the best game I’ve ever seen.”

Two weeks later, he ate those words on the last play of the “Kick Six” Iron Bowl game – Auburn vs. Alabama. It was tied up with one second on the clock and Alabama’s coach, Nick Saban, furious with his regular kicker, went to a redshirt freshman to try a 57-yard field goal. It fell just short and an Auburn cornerback who was stationed in the end zone caught it and ran it all the way back for the win. Verne’s masterful words: “On the way … No, returned by Chris Davis. Davis goes left. Davis gets a block. Davis has another block! Chris Davis! No flags! Touchdown, Auburn! An answered prayer!” After the third replay, Gary said, “No wonder they couldn’t catch him! They had nothing but fat guys on the field!” Verne still uses those two games for his highlight reel when he does speeches.

This 2023 Masters Tournament

“This will be number thirty-nine for me. I’m excited about being there. And if there has ever been an early favorite better than Jon Rahm, I don’t know who it would be. The way he’s playing, it’s just incredible. I do know this – I’ve made it my personal mission to meet Scottie Scheffler. I’ve heard he’s one of the world’s nicest people. I’d like to shake his hand and say good luck. CBS puts us up in private homes for the week. Nancy and I will be rooming with two other couples who are good friends. I’ll be 82 this year and I’ve agreed with my boss Sean McManus that the 2024 tournament will be my last. I’ve done the Masters all but two years since 1983.” (In 1997 and 1998, Verne was with TNT.)

April 1 is Trowel and Error

Gardening Symposium at Mayfield Park

By Alana Moehring Mallard

It’s time to start getting serious about digging in the garden, and what better way to do that than spending a morning at Mayfield Park and its annual Trowel and Error Gardening Symposium on Saturday, April 1, from 9:30 a.m. till noon.

“We are going to do things a little differently this year,” said Blake Tollett, leader of Mayfield Park-Community Project. “We have scheduled two speakers rather than the usual three, and Peacock Recorder Consort, a recorder group that holds their practice sessions at the park during the year, have agreed to entertain during the lead up to the talks.”

Trowel and Error kicks off, as always, with a 9:30 a.m. pass-along plant sale and a chance to buy tickets to win