J.C. Politz
BornDecember 2, 1924
Napoleonville, Louisiana, USA
Died2006
Alma materLouisiana State University
OccupationSports announcer

J.C. Politz (1924-2006) was an American sportscaster best known for calling games for the Southern Jaguars football team, LSU Tigers basketball and football teams and St. Louis Cardinals (NFL).[1] He also called games for the Tulane Green Wave, Southeastern Louisiana Lions, Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles, New Mexico Lobos and New Orleans Privateers.[2]

Biography

J.C. Politz was born on December 2, 1924, in Napoleonville, Louisiana.[3] He was a gunner on a B-24 flying over Europe in World War II.[2] After the war, he attended Louisiana State University and graduated in 1953.[2] He worked at several radio stations and WBRZ-TV in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. His first job calling games was with the Southern Jaguars in the mid-1950s.[4] After the 1958 season, John Ferguson left LSU and Politz was hired for the 1959 football season to broadcast LSU football and men's basketball.[5] During the 1959 football season, Politz called what could arguably be one of the more memorable plays in college football history.[6] He was the radio announcer during Billy Cannon's Halloween run versus Ole Miss.[7][8] Politz remained at LSU through the 1960 season before John Ferguson returned for 1961.[9]

After leaving LSU, Politz spent three years calling St. Louis Cardinals (NFL) football games for KMOX-AM before returning to Baton Rouge.[10] He called games for the Tulane Green Wave, Southeastern Louisiana Lions, Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles, New Mexico Lobos and New Orleans Privateers. He returned to Southern University in the 1990s and called his final game on November 30, 2002, in the Bayou Classic.[4]

Politz died in 2006 at the age of 81 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.[2]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Former 'Voice of the Tigers' Leaves Gift to LSU Vet School". lsusports.net. Retrieved 2018-07-08.
  2. ^ a b c d "Broadcaster J.C. Politz dies at age 81". theadvocate.com. Retrieved 2018-07-08.
  3. ^ "LSU hires Georgia Southern announcer Chris Blair to replace the retiring Jim Hawthorne". nola.com. Retrieved 2018-07-08.
  4. ^ a b Aiello, Thomas (15 September 2010). Bayou Classic [The Grambling-Southern Football Rivalry]. Baton Rouge, Louisiana: LSU Press. ISBN 978-0807145937. Retrieved 2018-07-08.
  5. ^ "How LSU and Clemson Advanced to the 1959 Sugar Bowl". allstatesugarbowl.org. Retrieved 2018-07-08.
  6. ^ "All Systems Geaux". Los Angeles Times. 3 January 2004. Retrieved 2018-07-08.
  7. ^ Aiello, Thomas (22 February 2016). The Best of Peter Finney, Legendary New Orleans Sportswriter. Baton Rouge, Louisiana: LSU Press. p. 42. ISBN 978-0807163078. Retrieved 2018-07-08.
  8. ^ "Politz, Morris never got just due". The Houma Courier. Retrieved 2018-07-08.
  9. ^ Barnhart, Tony (August 2008). Southern Fried Football (Revised) [The History, Passion, and Glory of the Great Southern Game]. Chicago, Illinois: Triumph Books. ISBN 978-1623684884. Retrieved 2018-07-08.
  10. ^ "Rattlers Are On A Roll And Go For 5 In A Row". orlandosentinel.com. Retrieved 2018-07-08.
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