Lindsey Nelson or John Ward

#51
#51
Boca Vol said:
Hmmm.

Anyway. Bob isn't as bad as many of you seem to make him out to be.

Just as many of you are so quick to ask what coaching credentials others have, I would love for any of us to attempt to call 1 live play.

We would make Roger sound like JFK or FDR.
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Underrated post of the day, IMO.
 
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#52
#52
Titan&Volfan4life said:
Good point my friend.

O was by far the best.

Jordan and Lebron can't carry his jock.

It's actually amazing how great some of those old school guys were in BB and football.

Until the day I die I'll always miss our Minister of Defense, RIP RW, you'll always be a VFL.

Back on topic, for me it will always be Ward by far.

He was just something special and you could close your eyes, listen to him and see the plays.

Young people today get to watch every game on TV and don't know how lucky we all are now.

#BrickbyBrick...VFL...GBO!!!
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jordan 6 rings. big "O" 1.
game over.

and ill break it down in case your a numbers guy. you know, someone that thinks championships dont matter.

jordan, 3 in a row. played baseball for a few years and the bulls didnt win squat. came back and won 3 more.

i guess marino was better than montana too

its ward hands down btw
 
#53
#53
QUOTE=Tnwoodsman;11242225]Similar to what I would have said about George Mooney after Ward took over. Ward was a good announcer, and I understand those who grew up with him will always have a special place in their hearts for him. The 12 year olds of today will someday be longing for the days of Bob Kessling, the man they grew up listening to. I think the vast majority of posters here grew up with John Ward, therefore he is their nostalgic memory of the Vol announcers. I started listening to the Vol radio in 1951. After all these years, I can look back with a little more understanding, and I think Kessling is as good as either of the other two.[/QUOTE]

:ermm: I started by listening to G. Mooney, too. IMO there's no equal to John Ward...not even close.
 
#54
#54
UrbanCryer said:
jordan 6 rings. big "O" 1.
game over.

and ill break it down in case your a numbers guy. you know, someone that thinks championships dont matter.

jordan, 3 in a row. played baseball for a few years and the bulls didnt win squat. came back and won 3 more.

i guess marino was better than montana too

its ward hands down btw
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I would bet money on Oscar Robinson on one on one game IMO ...Jordan got a lot of touch fouls , walks etc... when Nike & Air Jordans owned the refs. NBA changed about the time Magic and Bird came in they realized don't foul out who TV and viewers came to see and call it just a little different for the chosen few. Why I quit watching NBA.
 
#55
#55
No one will surpass Ward. A huge majority of fans would turn the sound down on the tv, and watch the game with Wards broadcast on the radio. Now that's respect. I remember it well. We would score a long Td and running the extra pt team out while Ward would still be counting down the yards...he's at the 20,15, 10, 5..4..3..2..1..give him six. I miss his broadcast.
 
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#56
#56
Wards voice will forever be linked to the biggest moments in Vols football history and that makes him "the man" for many.

For me personally I went to many games and I was also a student and didn't listen to the broadcast on headphones. So for me, Bobby Denton was the voice of the Vols.
 
#59
#59
GreveHaller said:
I guess I was spoiled by Ward growing up in the era where the Vols were not on tv every week. He was our ESPN/SEC Network/CBS. That being, he verbally painted a picture of what was happening on every play. How the players were lined up, what direction they were going, yard line, time on the clock, score, etc.... when you heard John you could see the details in your mind. Unfortunately Bob does not do that. Yes, he calls a game but that's it. Listening to Bob is the second best thing if you cannot see the game. Ward was the best option and tv was second
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My only memories of George Mooney were of his final season (1967) as the Voice of the Vols. In retrospect, he was a more professionally polished announcer than John Ward. However, John had an ability to vividly paint a verbal picture of the action as it unfolded and he did so with dramatic flare. In the era of radio broadcasting, that ability was an absolute prerequisite to success, one that today is not adequately developed by most television commentators.
 
#60
#60
what would be interesting to see is if you got around 20 or so calls from Mooney, Ward, and Kesling and let Non-Vol, but huge football fans vote on who they liked the best...people who knew the game but were not biased on the subject...maybe get 100 or so people to rank them 1 to 10...be a great project for a student in communications or something along that line
 
#61
#61
John Ward.
john+ward3.jpg
 
#67
#67
Not to pick on the original poster unduly, but the original question is a bit misleading. Lindsey Nelson "served as a student assistant to legendary Tennessee football coach Gen. Robert R. Neyland, started the Vol Radio Network in 1949 and later assumed the post of sports information director in 1951." Does anyone actually remember Nelson as the Voice of the Vols?

Now, in terms of national recognition, there is no competition. Lindey Nelson "was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum at Cooperstown, N.Y., in 1988, the New York Mets' Hall of Fame at Shea Stadium, the State of New York Sports Hall of Fame, the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Hall of Fame in Salisbury, N.C., the American Sportscasters Hall of Fame in New York City, the Mutual Broadcasting Hall of Fame in Nashville, the East Tennessee Hall of Fame for the Performing Arts in Knoxville, the College Football Hall of Fame, the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio, and the LSU Athletic Hall of Fame in Baton Rouge, La" (UTSPORTS.COM - University of Tennessee Athletics - Facilities).
 
#68
#68
Volosaurus rex said:
Not to pick on the original poster unduly, but the original question is a bit misleading. Lindsey Nelson "served as a student assistant to legendary Tennessee football coach Gen. Robert R. Neyland, started the Vol Radio Network in 1949 and later assumed the post of sports information director in 1951." Does anyone actually remember Nelson as the Voice of the Vols?

Now, in terms of national recognition, there is no competition. Lindey Nelson "was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum at Cooperstown, N.Y., in 1988, the New York Mets' Hall of Fame at Shea Stadium, the State of New York Sports Hall of Fame, the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Hall of Fame in Salisbury, N.C., the American Sportscasters Hall of Fame in New York City, the Mutual Broadcasting Hall of Fame in Nashville, the East Tennessee Hall of Fame for the Performing Arts in Knoxville, the College Football Hall of Fame, the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio, and the LSU Athletic Hall of Fame in Baton Rouge, La" (UTSPORTS.COM - University of Tennessee Athletics - Facilities).
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Yeah looks like he was beyond good but 80% of poster are going with Ward because they have never heard of Lindsey Nelson until they hit this thread. It's the what have you done lately syndrome.
 
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#70
#70
Not old enough to remember Nelson but old enough to know that Ward was pretty dang good and there really isn't a game that goes by that I find myself saying I miss the voice of Tennessee football.

Also, he was as every bit as good at calling basketball games, if not better. Very entertaining to listen to.
 
#71
#71
Ward was a stylist in that old-school way. He had his signature lines and expressions, the yard-line countdown, for example, when a Vol ran it into the end zone: "30, 25, 20, 15, 10, 5"....pause: "Give it to him! Touchdown, Tennessee." And then were others. He had an act--a bit goofy at times, but he was great. He was a very good basketball announcer. You can't really compare Ward with Nelson, who had an outstanding /national/ broadcasting career.

Kesling has a good voice but he's not very original. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think he has any signature lines or expressions that are his own. (Think Dick Enberg with his "Oh my!"). He is rather mundane.
 
#72
#72
armchair said:
Ward was a stylist in that old-school way. He had his signature lines and expressions, the yard-line countdown, for example, when a Vol ran it into the end zone: "30, 25, 20, 15, 10, 5"....pause: "Give it to him! Touchdown, Tennessee." And then were others. He had an act--a bit goofy at times, but he was great. He was a very good basketball announcer. You can't really compare Ward with Nelson, who had an outstanding /national/ broadcasting career.

Kesling has a good voice but he's not very original. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think he has any signature lines or expressions that are his own. (Think Dick Enberg with his "Oh my!"). He is rather mundane.
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To the cheggerboards!
 
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#74
#74
Boca Vol said:
Hmmm.

Anyway. Bob isn't as bad as many of you seem to make him out to be.

Just as many of you are so quick to ask what coaching credentials others have, I would love for any of us to attempt to call 1 live play.

We would make Roger sound like JFK or FDR.
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agreed, Bob is fine and is as good as any of the other homer's in the SEC....sucks to have followed John Ward
 
#75
#75
MasterShake Vol8 said:
I hate to tell people...but in 30 years or so when Kesling hangs it up and a new generation or two has only heard his voice their entire lives. Including the one to two championships that will come and the iconic calls with it, then he will be remembered as Ward is now. I know it is shocking, but just ask a 20 year old now...they will say Lebron is better or as good as Jordan...that Derek Barnett has to be better than Reggie White. They do not know any better and then perception unfortunately becomes reality.
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I think it will be exactly opposite. Once kesling and hubbs are replaced, the listening audience will surely hear a much improved announcing duo as I do not believe it could possibly be any worse. Like so many others, I would watch the television and listen to John. Now, as much as I hate to say it, I would rather listen to the espn and sec network crews than kesling and hubbs.

I realize how hard it must be to replace the best but rambling stammering kesling!?
 
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