Our friend Charlie passed away on Thursday of this week. Here is a copy of the story on most of the news wires.
Sportscaster Charlie Jones, 77, dies of heart attack
By BERNIE WILSON
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 massive heart attack Thursday at his home in the La Jolla district of San Diego, said his wife, Ann. Jones, who retired in the late 1990s, had been in poor health for several years, she said.
Jones worked for ABC and NBC in a career spanning 38 years. "He said, 'I never felt like I ever went to work,'" Ann Jones said Friday. "He loved it. He said, 'I've got the best seat in the house.' Jones started at ABC in 1960, the year the AFL made its debut. He moved to NBC in 1965, remaining 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 really liked them all," Ann Jones said. "He really did. He wasn't particular, because they were all so different."
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." Longtime agent Martin Mandel said Jones was "one of the legends of sports broadcasting.""He had a wonderful kettledrum voice. He was known for that and his versatility," Mandel said.
Jones will be cremated and his ashes spread over the Pacific Ocean. A celebration of his life will be held Wednesday afternoon at the La Jolla Beach & Tennis Club. "He had it in his will that men cannot wear ties," Ann Jones said.
Jones also is survived by two children and three grandchildren.
Associated Press Writer Solvej Schou in Los Angeles contributed to this report.
If you have a memory of Charlie you would like to share, please click on the comment link below and let us know.
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8 comments:
As a native of Fort Smith, I always had a special connection with Charlie Jones. His distictive voice was always recognizable. As I grew up thru the years, I would listen and watch everytime he was on the air and if with friends or family would mention that he and I where born in the same community. He will be missed. My deepest sympathy to his wife and family. God Bless
Simon Gribben
TEARS
Tears are cheers to GOD,
Praise for a perfect Creation.
Tears of gladness celebrate Gain.
Tears of sadness appreciate Loss.
Every teardrop validates creation’s Worth.
Yesterday glimmers with beloved Ghosts,
Tomorrow simmers with dreams of Hope.
Today is just another perfect day to pray or play for Tears.
Welcome to the bittersweet Paradise!
The launchpad to Eternity.
If you’ve been Here,
You’ll be There:
I guarantee It!
Simply Simon
"Read the news today...Oh my," A friend for over 40 years has left the building. He said recently a piece we did over 40 years ago, "The Raven", still got monthly kudos from fans all around the country. He was proposing me to the pro football Hall of Fame. If I got in, he would be my presenter. I hadn't told him that, maybe it was just understood. He would have done a great job of putting me down while holding me up. I feel like I'm left holding the bag.
He was a friend. That means I loved him and still do. And I will miss his tart replies. His humor. His gentle jibes. When we started working together (he the voice, me the writer/editor) and fan mail started coming in over our collaborations, he warned me about my "take no prisoners" attitude toward management interference: he mailed in a cartoon from Playboy with a pith helmeted explorer sinking in quicksand surrounded by natives while the explorer flips them the middle finger.
A few years ago, Charlie asked me to pen a Xmas story for an anthology he was doing. Being Jewish, I didn't think I had any Xmas stories. He insisted I tell my non Xmas story. So I did. For nothing. He publishes it in a free giveaway supplied by his local Mercedes dealer. When I saw the dealer's name on the back of the small book, I asked Charlie what he was paid for this giveaway while I got nothing: his response, "I got a Mercedes SUV". Charlie always landed on his feet. I always land on my head.
I never knew his family. I share their sorrow. I sent him emails Thursday and Friday, not realizing his address was now unknown. He would have loved their tart humor.
He started recently calling me "Simply", making a joke out of my email handle. Well, here's a final flip to my beloved friend:
I love you, Charlie Jones,
Simply, Simon
Charlie was a true gentelman in a role that allowed the story to unfold in front of him (and us), all without Charlie ever feeling the need to become a part of that same story. That's the role of a true reporter, which Charlie was, at every event he covered.
Greg, please don't ever take down this blog. I've just discovered it (thanks to Si.com), and wished I had come across it a long time ago. This collection of memoirs and opinion from Charlie is excellent, and it allows someone like me to know more about the man behind the microphone even more. I'm only 31, but remember a lot of Charlie's work throughout the 90s.
I wish I had known this was here before Charlie's passing. I always enjoyed his work, especially on football and track.
9! 7! 9!
Too many good people gone lately...
I certainly never knew Charlie personally, but enjoyed listening to him for years. He was always a human being and had a good sense of humor about what he was doing and himself. In the Seoul Olympics, he misidentified the winner of the gold medal in the 800 meters (a fellow UVA student named Paul Ereng). He apologized to the runner for the error and then announced, "We just entered the world record book of blunders".
It might have been a blunder, but Charlie took it in stride and made it a moment to remember.
I'm not a famousathlete or a sports announcer. I am just an ordinary person, but you managed to make me fell like an important person.
I felt as if I was amember of your family. Thank you for sharing a part of your life with me and my family. I can still see the smile on your face when you got your Leg Lamp and invited me to see it. Boy, was Ann Surprised. You will be missed my friend, not only by your kids(Chuck/Julie) and Ann, but all of us whose Life you touched. God Bless. Erick Gomez-Villeda
I was very sad to hear of the death of Charlie Jones. I grew up listening to Charlie on NBC's NFL broadcasts. Oh, how I wish we had the likes of Charlie in today's NFL broadcasts. RIP, Charlie
I was saddened to hear of Charlie's passing last week. I fondly remember his time at NBC- especially his work with the NFL and the Fiesta Bowl. He had an uncanny ability to speak to you as if you were watching the game with him in your living room.
Upon reading various obituaries last week, I came across this blog. I wish I had known about it sooner. He appeared to be as interesting and down to earth outside of the booth as he was inside the booth. My sympathy to his family and friends. May he rest in peace.
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