Keith Jackson
ASA Hall of Famer and
Legendary ABC Sportscaster
to be Honored with
Statue at the Rose Bowl
by Lou Schwartz
Keith Jackson addresses the crowd at the
ASA Hall of Fame Dinner - 1994
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 31, 2019 - Keith Jackson, ASA Hall of Famer and legendary sportscaster for ABC Sports, will have a statue erected in his honor outside the Rose Bowl.
The announcement came after officials with the Rose Bowl Legacy Foundation discussed plans for the statue at a Pasadena City Council meeting on Monday night. The donation-funded statue could be installed as early as December, ahead of the 106th Rose Bowl Game on Jan. 1. Fund raising efforts for the statue have been ongoing for more than a year.
Jackson, who dubbed the Rose Bowl the "Granddaddy of Them All," died on Jan. 12, 2018, at age 89. He holds the record for most Rose Bowls called with 15, ahead of fellow ASA Hall of Famers Mel Allen and Curt Gowdy, and Brent Musburger, who all called the game 12 times. In 2015, the Rose Bowl stadium's broadcast center was renamed in his honor.
Born in Roopville, Georgia, in 1928, Jackson grew up picking cotton and plowing fields, and studying by kerosene lamp. He attended Washington State University on a G.I. Bill and upon graduation in 1954, joined Seattle's KOMO-TV as a news and sports anchor. In 1958, he made history with the first live broadcast of a sporting event (crew) from the Soviet Union to the United States.
Jackson joined ABC Sports in 1966 where he was a mainstay for 40 years. Aside from achieving legendary status as a college football announcer, Jackson was known for his coverage of the Olympics, Major League Baseball, "Monday Night Football" and the list goes on.
In 1994, Jackson was inducted into the American Sportscasters Association's Hall of Fame. During the award presentation at the ASA Hall of Fame Dinner, his longtime partner Bob Griese stated, "In the heart of the greatest college football broadcaster of all time lies a life steeped in tradition and affection for the game of football and the amateur athletes who love it so."
Jackson's statue, which will depict him standing and holding a microphone with the Rose Bowl logo, will be the third statue at the stadium. The others are of Brooklyn Dodger great Jackie Robinson, dedicated in 2017, and U.S. women's soccer player Brandi Chastain, dedicated in July in honor of the U.S. Women's National Team that won the World Cup at the Rose Bowl in 1999
Keith Jackson, Lou Schwartz, Dick Enberg and Bob Griese at the ASA Hall of Fame Dinner - 1994
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