MSU Broadcaster Cristil Retires

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It’s a sad day for the SEC.  Longtime Mississippi State play-by-play man Jack Cristil announced last night that he is retiring Saturday after nearly 60 years as the voice of the Bulldogs.

Cristil said that a “deteriorating health situation” will require him to go on kidney dialysis.  “Doing this treatment will restrict me to the point where I cannot represent this university the way it should be represented.  And when I cannot do that, I have told many people over the years that I would step aside.  Now it’s time to step aside.”

Any time one of the league’s long-tenured announcers retires it’s a loss for the entire conference.  Fans literally grow up and grow old with men like Cristil serving as a neighborly connection between themselves and their favorite school.

In Cristil’s case, he called 636 Mississippi State football games from 1953 through 2010.  According to The Jackson Clarion-Ledger, that’s 59% of all the football games ever played by State.  His final call at Tennessee on Saturday will be his 1,538th men’s basketball game.

Unreal.  Best wishes to Cristil as he leaves the SEC to take care of his health.

Below are a few of his most-famous calls.  And you can wrap it in maroon and white.