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The West Virginia Encyclopedia
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The West Virginia Encyclopedia
Broadcast announcer Jack Fleming (February 3, 1923-January 3, 2001) was the long-time ‘‘Voice of the Mountaineers.’’ He was born in Morgantown and was educated there through college. Six times he was chosen State Sportscaster of the Year. A navigator on a World War II bomber, Fleming later attended West Virginia University on the GI Bill. He began announcing WVU sports as an undergraduate in 1947, and, except for a few years when he worked away as a broadcaster in pro basketball and football, he anchored sports radio at the state’s flagship university through 1997.
From 1960 to 1970, Fleming was general manager of WAJR Radio in Morgantown, and he was sports director of WTAE-TV in Pittsburgh, 1970–73. He was the announcer for the Pittsburgh Steelers from 1958 through 1993, broadcasting four Super Bowls. His 1972 call of the ‘‘immaculate reception,’’ considered the greatest play in National Football League history, still airs perennially through NFL Films. Fleming announced for the Chicago Bulls of the National Basketball Association, 1970–73.
Fleming’s career included briefer stints as announcer for the Pittsburgh Rens of the old American Basketball League and for the Pittsburgh Pirates baseball team. For four decades, beginning in the 1950s, he co-anchored and co-produced broadcasts of the West Virginia State Scholastic Basketball Tournament.
Written by Norman Julian
Interviews by author. Fleming, Jack. 1995 & 1999.