1995 – Keith Jackson

Born on a farm near the Georgia-Alabama border on October 18, 1928, sportscasting legend Keith Jackson is most famous for his 53 years covering college football. Jackson began his broadcasting career at KOMO-Radio, in Seattle, before moving to KOMO-TV in 1954. He made history on KOMO-TV in 1958, when he broadcast the first live sports event from the Soviet Union to the U.S. Then in 1964, he moved to ABC Radio West as sports director, before joining ABC Sports in 1966. He remained with ABC until his retirement after the 2005-2006 college football season. While Jackson is most famous for his coverage of college football, at ABC he covered a variety of sports including Major League Baseball, NBA Basketball, boxing, auto racing, and Olympic Games. He was also the first play-by-play announcer of “Monday Night Football,” and regularly appeared on “Wide World of Sports.” During his outstanding broadcasting career, Jackson was named National Sportscaster of the Year five consecutive times. His other honors include the Amos Alonzo Stagg Award, from the American Football Coaches Association, and the Gold Medal Award, from the National Football Foundation. In recognition of his outstanding sportscasting career, Jackson was inducted into the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association Hall of Fame on April 24, 1995.