Sportscaster Charlie Jones, 77, dies of heart attack
SAN DIEGO (AP)—Charlie Jones, the deep-voiced sportscaster whose career as a play-by-play announcer dated to the beginning of the American Football League in 1960, has died. He was 77.
Jones died of a heart attack Thursday at his home in the La Jolla district of San Diego, his longtime agent, Martin Mandel, told The Associated Press.
“Charlie is one of the legends of sports broadcasting starting with covering the first Super Bowl,” Mandel said. “He had a wonderful kettledrum voice. He was known for that and his versatility.”
NBC Sports chairman Dick Ebersol called Jones “one of the great pioneers of NBC Sports. His work in particular on the NFL, golf and the Olympics left a lasting legacy.”
Jones worked for ABC and NBC in a career spanning 38 years.
He started at ABC in 1960, the year the American Football League made its debut. He moved to NBC in 1965, remainining with that network until 1997.
Jones announced 28 different sports, while with NBC, from golf to tennis, baseball to figure skating. He called events at the 1988 Seoul Olympics and the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.
He is survived by wife Ann Jones, two children and three grandchildren.
No comments:
Post a Comment