Jack Fleming: The Voice of The
Mountaineers
[1924-2001]
Collected here are various publications and pictures in memorial of the
great legacy of Jack Fleming.
-The Voice of the Mountaineers.
Additionally, you may click on any image below to view it full-size.
Morgantown native, Jack had a gift for announcing.
He served as announcer to four Super Bowls, the 1960 Rome Olympics, The
Chicago Bulls, and spent 34 years announcing for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
He's most widely remembered for his narrative of the 1972 “Immaculate
Reception” by Franco Harris, incidentally the most
replayed
call in pro football history. Despite these very notable accomplishments,
Jack's true love was for the Mountaineers, as he dedicated 47 years of
broadcast to WVU.
"It would
gratify me the most when I would hear from a blind person.
They often thanked me for creating a picture. That's what it was all about."
-Jack Fleming
His heart was always in Morgantown. A 1941 graduate of MHS, Fleming was
student
body president. After graduation, Jack enlisted as a B-17 bomber navigator.
He began his career in broadcast while recuperating at Ashford Military
Hospital in Greenbrier by reading newspaper articles over the loudspeaker
for other injured soldiers.
Once back in Morgantown Fleming enrolled at WVU’s School of Creative
Arts in the speech department where he was later appointed sports editor of
the student newspaper,
The Daily Athenaeum. Many believe for him, this kick-started a
career devoted to Mountaineer sports.
“I’m no legend; I don’t believe all that
stuff.”
– Jack Fleming
Jack
Fleming is also well-remembered for his incredible play-by-play announcing
and illustrative pre-game narratives:
His honors speak a great deal for his work. He was a 7-time West
Virginia
Sportscaster of the Year. Also the fourth ever recipient of the Chris
Schenkel Award for lifelong excellence and commitment to broadcasting
college football.
Jack Fleming will be remembered in many
ways but here in Morgantown most of all for his passion for broadcast and
love of West Virginia University. But most of all for the incredible
mark left in the hearts of true Mountaineer sports fans.
Related Web Links:
The life and immaculate ascension of the
‘Voice of the Mountaineers’Read
more MSN
Sports Net
"He wanted things done right all the time and he wasn't afraid to tell
you when you
screwed up. But his bark was much worse than his bite. He loved people..."
Read
more 440.com
Jack Fleming: The Voice of The
Mountaineers
[1924-2001]
Morgantown native, Jack had a gift for announcing.
