One of our Southern sports icons has left us, Larry Munson, the Voice of the Bulldogs from 1966-2008, has passed away at the age of 89.
Growing up, my dad and I spent a lot of time in the car together, and the voices of Larry Munson, John Ward (Voice of the Vols from 1965-1999) and Jim Reynolds (Voice of the Mocs from 1979 to present) made (and in JR’s case are still making) some of the most memorable sports calls of all time.
My dad was one of those folks who would turn down the TV so that he could listen to the play-by-play over the radio because it was simply so much better then the television announcers.
The thing about Larry, John and JR that made them so great was that they were and are honestly fans first. Sometimes when listening to Larry Munson, you’d never actually get the play call (think Kevin Butler’s 60 yard field goal to beat Clemson, Rex Robinson’s field goal over Kentucky or the hobnail boot call in Knoxville) but through the emotion, the celebrating… and sometimes the sadness of defeat… you knew exactly what had happened.
Thanks for the memories, Larry… and, Go Dawgs!
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