| VOICES: MEMORIES OF JACK Mountaineer fans around the world remember Jack
MSNsportsNET.com Brad
Cooper I'm only 18 years old, but I literally grew up with WVU sports and Jack was always synonymous with WVU. I will always remember Jack's call of the 1988 Penn State game -- from his call of Major's TD run to Renaldo Turnbull's big sack of Tony Sacca -- Jack's voice outlined it all. In fact I still have a tape of the audio from the game. Everyone who wears the gold and blue will miss Jack. Vincent
R.
Pilate Jack was so tremendous. I'd have to say it's the way he made me look forward to all basketball and football broadcasts. The "intro" he did about 15 minutes before the start of every game (like OnAir.wav) pumped me up so much I was truly at a fever pitch by the tip off or kickoff. To me it got to be just as important to hear that as the game broadcast. Also, no one could "smooth" over a loss like he could, which was very important over the years as Mountaineer fans everywhere would probably agree. Bob
Coen My father, now deceased, got me interested in Mountaineer Sports at an early age. He was a big fan of the Mountaineers and a bigger fan of Jack Fleming. Growing up when the Mountaineers where not on TV often and we had to depend on the radio broadcasts. When my father would take me hunting on a Saturday afternoon in the fall he would always take along his radio and listen to the game in the woods. It was not until later in life that I realized that my father didn't really care about hunting, he cared about spending time with his son and during this time listening to the broadcast by Jack. I would even go so far as to say that if he had a chance to shoot some game or listen to the game and Jack, he would pick the latter. I thank my father for getting me interested in Mountaineer sports and to Jack Fleming for keeping me interested. To this day I still turn on the radio and turn down the volume on the TV. Andrew
Scritchfield As a born-and-raised Mountaineer now living in Arlington, Va., my all-time favorite Jack Fleming moment came in the WVU Coliseum. During a basketball game, there was a time-out to honor Jack as the "Voice of the Mountaineers." As he stood on the court, a student in the stands stood up with a sign that simply read, "Beat Pitt." Without hesitation, Jack raced into the stands, grabbed the sign, and ran around the court waiving it as the crowd went crazy. To me, that epitomized what Jack Fleming was all about. Greg
Goodwin I will never forget watching the Mountaineers on TV with my grandfather and the TV volume was always off so we could listen to Jack Fleming's magical voice on the radio. To me, Jack's call of Major's broken play in '88 against Penn State will always stick out as a favorite. Jack Fleming will forever be WVU football and basketball to me. Mike
Chapman I left Morgantown when I graduated from WVU in '69 but I grew up in Suncrest. The Flemings were my neighbors just across the open field from University & Mulberry to Jacobs where they lived then. I also lived in Chicago in '72-75 so I remember Jack's voice on radio there as being a pleasant reminder to home ties. To me, I still can't help but remember Jack's dulcet tones across the air waves as being the original voice of Mountaineer sports. We offer our condolences and prayers to his family. Mike Chapman, President, WVU Blue Ridge Mountaineer Club, Roanoke, VA Pat
Daley The thing I loved most of Jack Fleming was the way he called a football game. If someone who never had heard of Jack Fleming listened to him for five minutes, they would know whom Jack was rooting for. Growing up, the one thing I can remember most is Jack's "Touchdown, West Virginia!" Thank you Jack for the heart and soul you put into your play-by-play of the Mountaineers. Clint
Springer My favorite Jack Fleming memory was the start of every broadcast. I cannot pick just one. The beginning of every broadcast was some of the best non-published poetry ever written. It did not matter what team the Mountaineers were facing, Jack's opening made it exciting. I have missed him every game since his retirement and will continue to now. I am very sad that our friend has passed. West Virginia has lost one in a million. I know the sky will shine even brighter blue and gold with Jack in heaven. My sincere sympathy to his family. Mike
Furfari Growing up in Morgantown in the 50s and 60s, I remember Jack's 15-minute radio sports show each weekday evening, from 6:15 until 6:30 on WAJR. The show was 5 minutes of sports news and 10 minutes of commentary, in an age when commentary was not common. Before ESPN and other all-sports networks, radio was the best source for in-depth sports, and Jack's show was Morgantown's primary source of sports news. Before the Pitt-WVU football game each year, Jack would open up Monday's show with "this is the beginning of Hate Pitt week." He would explain how he was raised to hate Pitt, and by the end of the week, Morgantown was in a whipped-up state and the Mountaineers ready to do battle with the Panthers. Jack Fleming MADE the WVU-Pitt rivalry and cherished it as if it were one of his children. Mike
Cox While Jack Fleming was a great football announcer, he was an even greater basketball announcer. Jack was one of the first if the very first basketball announcer to call a game from courtside. His colleagues questioned why he would do such a thing, as they felt you couldn't see the game nearly as well from courtside as from press row. Jack had different ideas. He felt he would feel more part of the game by sitting closer to it. More importantly, he knew his listeners would feel more part of the game. We could hear those sneakers squeaking, the players and coaches yelling, and of course Jack raising his voice just loud enough for the official to hear him, at just the right time. Listeners were screaming at the radio, and as if he heard us Jack would yell, "Oh the ref sure missed that one", or "hey Woody, who is this ref?" "Haven't we seen him before?" The worst thing that happened to college basketball was television. No way could TV give us as clear a picture of the action as Jack Fleming described it. God blessed us all by giving us the best radio play-by-play voice that has ever lived. Don
Bassett The man was quite simply THE BEST! I have very fond memories of Jack as the voice of the Steelers - sorry Mountaineer fans, I'm a Pitt guy - and have missed him tremendously since his departure up here. Amazingly, I was wondering about him on New Years Day - where he was and what he was doing. Morgantown and Pittsburgh have lost one hell of a guy in Jack Fleming. Rest in peace Jack. Jonas
Knotts His opening scene setter for the '86 Penn State game is one of the most moving and inspiring pieces of broadcasting that I have ever heard. The imagery draws you into the game and makes it sound that this will be a game of biblical proportions. He scares you with his description of the "white-clad ghosts" from Penn State then he rallies you by reminding you that this is a game where "anything can happen in football, on any given night, on any given field it can happen." We have lost one of the classiest, most respected people in the field of broadcasting. Godspeed Jack Fleming - you will be missed. Aaron
Colebank Any WVU football Saturday. He was the best! Anytime the Mountaineers played on TV the volume went down and the radio came on. He could bring the game to you in a way that no one else ever will. Thanks Jack, we will never forget you. Bob
Shirey I grew up listening to Jack, and I remember well lying in my bedroom at night with the radio on, while he painted visions of the activities in the old Field House or the original Mountaineer Field. That was long before I was old enough |