Blue White Illustrated

ith all the upheaval in Penn State football since November 2011, Steve Jones and Jack Ham have become the face of the program for many of the team's most loyal fans. That doesn't mean the two sports- casters, who handle the games on the Penn State Sports Network, are more visible or more important than the head football coach. But since the firing and death of Joe Paterno, Jones and Ham have been the steady hands – or should I say voices – in the turmoil that has en- gulfed Penn State in the aftermath of the Sandusky scandal. It may come as a surprise to you, but Jones and Ham have been doing the game day radio broadcasts together longer than any other two men in school history, starting in 2000. Ham also holds the record for the most years as radio analyst, while Jones has the most successive years as the play-by-play announcer – both with 15 years as of the 2014 season. If you add Jones's eight years as the third man in the booth from 1983-90, he now has the record for most total years involved in the radio broadcast with 24, one more year than Fran Fisher. Yes, Fran Fisher is the legend. He started as the third man in the booth in 1966, which may seem like an eon ago to Penn State's younger fans. Two years as the analyst followed and then a record of 19 combined years as the play-by- play man in two tenures, 1970-82 and 1994-99. Jones is creeping up on that record. To some fans, it may seem like Fisher's longtime partner on the broadcasts was George Paterno, Joe's younger brother. Actually, they were together just six years. Paterno had already been the ra- dio analyst since 1988 for two different play-by-play announcers when Fisher came out of retirement in 1994. Still, their six years together made them the longest-tenured team until Jones and Ham. There's a reason fans may think Fisher and George Paterno were together longer. The same year that George joined the radio network, Fisher became the host of a new weekly telephone call- in show with Joe Paterno. He continued in that role until 2000, overlapping his game day broadcasts with George. They certainly were a popular team. Their on-air chemistry called to mind two old pals, with Fisher supplying the humor and Paterno the candor, often criticizing his brother's coaching. Jones and Ham are at least their equal, but they have a different style. I first met Fran the day he started on Sept. 17, 1966, in Joe's first game. Fran was hired to be the "fill in" man. That's the broadcaster who fills the time when there is a commercial break. Mickey Bergstein was the analyst, and he is an- other legendary figure in Penn State's radio sports history. I had known Mickey since my under- graduate days from 1955-59. Like Fran, he was a great guy, friendly and helpful, especially to young, aspiring sports- writers and broadcasters. Bergstein was an analyst for nine years (1953-55, 1959, 1964-68) and did play-by-play for three years (1956-58). I traveled with the team in 1958 as sports editor of The Daily Collegian, and Mickey became a buddy on the road. In 1959, Bergstein was moved to ana- lyst and Tom Bender was hired as the play-by-play man. Bender was the prime sportscaster for KDKA radio and TV in Pittsburgh. Keep in mind that during this period, Penn State organized and sold the commercial time for the game day broadcasts, and KDKA was considered the key station carrying the games because of its powerful signal, which reached listeners far beyond its western Pennsylvania base. So, hiring Bender was common sense from a mar- keting standpoint. The next year, Penn State sold the network rights to a Philadelphia com- pany, C.D. Chesley. Bender moved over to analyst, bumping Bergstein, with Philadelphia's Gene Kelly taking over the play-by-play duties in 1960 and Bill Campbell in 1961. But in 1962, Bender was back at play-by-play with KDKA's Randy Hall as the analyst for two years and Bergstein for two years. Now, if this sounds like a merry-go- round, it was, and typical of many col- lege football radio broadcast teams in that era. Anyhow, sometime in the late summer of 1966, Bender called me and asked if I would be his spotter. That is the person who sits between the play-by-play an- nouncer and analyst and helps identify the players involved in the action on the field. The play-by-play announcer and analyst can't see everything going on. So primarily with the use of hand sig- nals, the spotter is a third eye for each man. I had some experience as a spotter as an undergraduate, working on a couple of television broadcasts of Penn State games. That was an era when TV games were limited to one or two a season. I clearly remember being the Penn State spotter twice for CBS and sitting be- tween the legendary Red Grange, who was the analyst, and Lindsey Nelson, then a famous play-by-play announcer. Of course, I was in awe and they treated me like a regular part of their team. Teamwork is as vital in the booth as it is on the field W

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