Jacob Sanford "Jack" Cristil (December 10, 1925 – September 7, 2014) was the long-time radio voice of Mississippi State University Bulldog men's basketball and football. Over his 58-year tenure (1953–2011), Cristil called 636 football games (or roughly 63% of all football games played by Mississippi State) and 1,538 basketball games (or roughly 55% of all basketball games played by Mississippi State).

Early life and career

Born in Memphis, Tennessee to Latvian and

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

Jewish immigrants, Cristil listened to radio stations from Pittsburgh, St. Louis, and Chicago at a young age and knew then he wanted to be a radio broadcaster. In 1947, Cristil studied

Broadcast Journalism Broadcast journalism is the field of news and journals which are broadcast by electronic methods instead of the older methods, such as printed newspapers and posters. It works on radio (via air, cable, and Internet), television (via air, cable, ...

at the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public land-grant research university in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. ...

before moving back home to Memphis. Shortly thereafter, Cristil began his radio play-by-play career calling Minor League Baseball in various places such as

Jackson, Tennessee Jackson is a city in and the county seat of Madison County, Tennessee, United States. Located east of Memphis, it is a regional center of trade for West Tennessee. Its total population was 68,205 as of the 2020 United States census. Jackson ...

;

Anniston, Alabama Anniston is the county seat of Calhoun County in Alabama and is one of two urban centers/principal cities of and included in the Anniston-Oxford Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2010 census, the population of the city was 23,106. Acc ...

; and

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mos ...

. He then moved to Clarksdale, Mississippi, to call Clarksdale High School football games. Cristil submitted an audition tape to then MSU Athletic Director C.R. "Dudy" Noble in August 1953. In September 1953, Cristil began calling Mississippi State football games. His first play-by-play was a 34–6 Mississippi State win over the

University of Memphis } The University of Memphis (UofM) is a public research university in Memphis, Tennessee. Founded in 1912, the university has an enrollment of more than 22,000 students. The university maintains the Herff College of Engineering, the Center for Ea ...

. In that game, future SEC Player of the Year and All American,

Art Davis Arthur David Davis (December 6, 1934 – July 29, 2007) was a double-bassist, known for his work with Thelonious Monk, John Coltrane, Dizzy Gillespie, McCoy Tyner and Max Roach. Biography Davis was born in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, United Stat ...

would score the first touchdown Cristil ever called in his Mississippi State broadcasting career. On September 26, 1956 as

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...

returned to Tupelo to perform two shows at the Mississippi-Alabama Fair and Dairy Show, he was interviewed, in between shows by Cristil. In 1957, Cristil began calling play-by-play for men's basketball. His first was a win over

Union University Union University is a private Baptist Christian university in Jackson, Tennessee, with additional campuses in Germantown and Hendersonville. The university is affiliated with the Tennessee Baptist Convention (Southern Baptist Convention). It is ...

, the city where he began his broadcasting career. Cristil was best known for ending a Bulldog victory by saying, "Wrap it in maroon and white!"

Retirement

Cristil announced his retirement after the men's basketball game against

University of Tennessee The University of Tennessee (officially The University of Tennessee, Knoxville; or UT Knoxville; UTK; or UT) is a public land-grant research university in Knoxville, Tennessee. Founded in 1794, two years before Tennessee became the 16th state ...

on February 23, 2011. He cited health issues as his reason for stepping down after 58 years. He addressed the fans after the broadcast for almost two minutes, expressing thanks and appreciation to the

Mississippi State Mississippi State University for Agriculture and Applied Science, commonly known as Mississippi State University (MSU), is a public land-grant research university adjacent to Starkville, Mississippi. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Univer ...

fan base. Jim Ellis, who had called Bulldog

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

since 1979, succeeded him. In 2011, Cristil was the

lay leader A lay leader is a member of the laity in any congregation who has been chosen as a leader either by their peers or the leadership of the congregation. In most denominations, lay leadership is not an ordained clerical office, and the lay leader's re ...

of the Temple B'nai Israel in Tupelo, Mississippi.Sid Salter (2015)
''Jack Cristil; Voice of the MSU Bulldogs''
University Press of Mississippi, Revised Edition. Cristil died September 7, 2014, at the age of 88 at Sanctuary Hospice House in Tupelo of complications from kidney disease and cancer.

Awards and achievements

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities o ...

Broadcaster of the Year – 1988 * 21 times named Mississippi Broadcaster of the Year * 1991 Inductee of Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame * Ronald Reagan Lifetime Achievement Award * 1997 Chris Schenkel Award given by the College Football Hall of Fame

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cristil, Jack 1925 births 2014 deaths American radio sports announcers College basketball announcers in the United States College football announcers Jewish American sportspeople Mississippi State Bulldogs football Mississippi State Bulldogs men's basketball Radio personalities from Memphis, Tennessee Sports in Mississippi University of Minnesota School of Journalism and Mass Communication alumni 21st-century American Jews