Jim Fyffe

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James William "Jim" Fyffe (November 20, 1945 - May 15, 2003) was a sportscaster and radio talk-show host best known as the play-by-play announcer for Auburn Tigers football and basketball.

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[edit] Career

A native of Paintsville, Kentucky, Fyffe became Auburn's play-by-play announcer in 1981 and spent 22 seasons calling Auburn football games. His signature "TOUCHDOWN AUBURN" call was beloved by Auburn fans and loathed by fans of the Alabama Crimson Tide. During his tenure as the voice of the Auburn Tigers, Fyffe shared the Auburn broadcast booth with three former Auburn quarterbacks. Pat Sullivan, the 1971 Heisman Trophy winner was the color commentator from 1981-1985. When Sullivan joined the Auburn coaching staff in 1986, he was replaced by Charlie Trotman, the Tigers quarterback from 1977-1979. When Trotman stepped down after the 2000 season, Stan White (the Tigers quarterback from 1990-1993) replaced him and worked with Fyffe during his final two seasons in the broadcast booth.

Fyffe also called Auburn basketball for 22 years. During basketball games, Fyffe was known to say "hello" to an Auburn player's home town following a slam dunk. According to Fyffe, this tradition started after Charles Barkley asked him to say hello to all the people in Leeds, Alabama, Barkley's hometown. Fyffe told Barkley that he would have to dunk the ball for him to do that. Barkley did, and thus began a tradition that Fyffe continued throughout his years behind the Auburn microphone.

Fyffe was also the play-by-play announcer for the USFL's Birmingham Stallions and the Columbus Wardogs of the Arena Football League. He was also the public address announcer for Talladega Superspeedway for 20 years, and was associated with the Blue-Gray Football Classic in Montgomery.

Fyffe was also a pioneer in sports-talk radio in Alabama, hosting one of the first such shows in Montgomery in the 1970s.[1] At the time of his death, Fyffe hosted a sports-talk show on WACV-AM in Montgomery, Alabama.

[edit] Death

On May 14, 2003, Jim Fyffe attended an Auburn Alumni group meeting in Prattville, Alabama with Auburn head football coach Tommy Tuberville. After returning home, he complained of a headache and later collapsed. He was rushed to Jackson Hospital in Montgomery where he was diagnosed with a brain aneurysm. Fyffe died the following morning (May 15, 2003) without regaining consciousness. That afternoon, Paul Finebaum led off his syndicated sports-talk show (based in Birmingham, Alabama) with one of Fyffe's best known calls, and dedicated his entire show to remembering the Auburn announcer. During the course of the program, Finebaum interviewed some of Fyffe's colleagues, including Charlie Trotman.

[edit] Awards

Jim Fyffe was named Alabama Sportscaster of the Year nine times during his career, and received numerous honors from the Auburn University Board of Trustees, the Alabama State Legislature, the Montgomery City Council, and the Auburn Alumni Association.

He was posthumously inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame in 2005.[2]

[edit] Legacy

Rod Bramblett succeeded Jim Fyffe in the Auburn broadcast booth.[3] During each football game broadcast, Bramblett remembers Fyffe by using his signature "Touchdown Auburn" call at least once during the course of a broadcast.[4]

Jim Fyffe suffered from diabetes during his life. Upon his death, the Jim Fyffe Diabetes Research Fund at Auburn University was created in his memory. The fund supports graduate students conducting diabetes research and provides funding for diabetes research projects. The fund was established by Auburn University, the Auburn Network and Jim Fyffe's widow, Rose Fyffe.[5]

[edit] Memorable calls

[edit] 1987: Auburn at Georgia Tech

In his autobiography, Jim Fyffe admitted that this call, from the October 17, 1987 game at Georgia Tech was probably the call he was most known for, and he considered it the second greatest Auburn win at the time the book was written (1996). Indeed, this call is on every collection of memorable radio calls released by the Auburn Network, and it was the call that Paul Finebaum played to open his show on the day of Jim Fyffe's death.

Auburn was heavily favored in the game with Georgia Tech, and this game was to be the last yearly meeting between the two rivals. But with 4:01 to play in the game, Auburn trailed 10-7 and needed to go 91-yards to score. The Tigers moved down the field behind the passing of quarterback Jeff Burger and, 16 plays later, were at the Georgia Tech four-yard-line with only 29 seconds to play:

“ ...they have two tight ends in the game, one setback is Harris, here is motion by Donaldson back to the near side and now reverses his field, goes to the wide side of the field. Burger sets up to throw...OH MY TOUCHDOWN AUBURN! TOUCHDOWN AUBURN! TOUCHDOWN AUBURN! TILLMAN, TILLMAN, TILLMAN...TILLMAN...AT THE BASELINE OF THE END ZONE! A BULLET BY BURGER! AUBURN GOES AHEAD! UNBELIEVABLE! UNBELIEVABLE! TILLMAN FROM BURGER! TOUCHDOWN AUBURN! 13-10 TIGERS LEAD! ”

The pass from Jeff Burger to receiver Lawyer Tillman completed a 17 play, 91-yard drive and the PAT gave Auburn a 14-10 lead. The Tigers' Aundray Bruce completed the scoring by returning a tipped pass for a touchdown on the last play of the game, and Auburn won 20-10. Fyffe received some criticism from the call...mainly, he said, from Alabama fans. Some in the media criticized him, saying they couldn't tell what was happening. Of the call, Fyffe said, "Frankly, in listening to the replay of the call through the years, I've never thought it was my best. I probably did go too crazy, but I think the listener could tell what was going on without any problem. No matter what I think about it, Auburn fans still come up to me and tell me it was the best call they've ever heard. And that's what matters."

[edit] Books

  • Fyffe, Jim with Rich Donnell (1996). Touchdown Auburn: Memories and Calls from the Announcer's Booth. Montgomery, AL: Donnell Group. ISBN 0-9653313-1-8. 

[edit] References