Over 4 Decades at the Mike--Whoa, Nellie!

Keith Jackson was raised in rural Georgia, miles from the nearest town. But more than 50 years after he rode a horse to high school, Jackson has become embedded in the nation’s sporting consciousness as the voice of college football.

The legendary broadcaster, who has lived in a Sherman Oaks home overlooking the Valley since the mid-1960s, will begin his 45th season as a college football play-by-play man this month.

Jackson, 68, who has handled those duties for ABC Television for 29 years, said last year that he will retire once his ABC contract expires after the 1998 season.

Instantly recognizable by his slight Southern drawl and unique sayings, Jackson is such an icon that he has been featured in several commercials and is regularly swarmed by admiring fans at stadiums across the country.

His calls of “FUMMM-BULLLL!” and “Whoa, Nellie” are part of a countrified repertoire that is all his own. Of a stalled offensive drive, he has said: “They got on the front porch and they can’t squeeze in the door.” Of a fearsome linebacker: “He’ll put a dent in your ice cream cone.” And of a coach plotting strategy: “If he’s got anything up his sleeve, he better shake it now.”

But as much as Jackson’s style reels in viewers, it is his substance that keeps them glued to the couch. Few broadcasters have his versatility and knowledge, and fewer still share his gift for making a mundane contest worthwhile.

“Keith Jackson has been the voice of college football for several generations,” USC Coach John Robinson said. “For my life, he’s been the Walter Cronkite or Edward R. Murrow of the sport. College football is better because of him.”

And despite the game’s ills, Jackson remains a fan.

“I still enjoy what I see out there on Saturdays,” Jackson said. “Kids we don’t know do things that make them national heroes. Walter Mitty lives in college football.”