Bill Text: MS SC511 | 2015 | Regular Session | Engrossed
Bill Title: Pay tribute to former "Voice of the Mississippi State Bulldogs" Jack Cristil and extend the sympathy of the Legislature.
Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Republican 13-7)
Status: (Passed) 2015-01-28 - Enrolled Bill Signed [SC511 Detail]
Download: Mississippi-2015-SC511-Engrossed.html
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2015 Regular Session
To: Rules
By: Senator(s) Collins, Ward, Carmichael, Jackson (15th), Clarke, Browning
Senate Concurrent Resolution 511
(As Adopted by Senate)
A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION PAYING TRIBUTE TO FORMER "VOICE OF THE MISSISSIPPI STATE BULLDOGS" JACK CRISTIL AND EXTENDING THE CONDOLENCES OF THE MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE TO HIS SURVIVING FAMILY.
"You Can Wrap This One in Maroon and White!"
WHEREAS, Jacob Sanford "Jack" Cristil, the beloved former Sports Broadcaster of six decades of Mississippi State University athletics, passed away September 7, 2014, at the age of 88. Cristil, who served MSU from 1953 to 2011, was known throughout the South as "the Voice of the Bulldogs." At the time he retired, he had called 60% of the football games played in the history of the program, as well as 54 seasons of MSU basketball; and
WHEREAS, with a 58-year association with MSU, Jack Cristil was the second longest-tenured college radio play-by-play announcer in the nation at the time of his 2011 retirement due to health problems. "As a lifelong Bulldog, my heart is heavy at learning of the passing of legendary MSU Broadcaster Jack Cristil," said MSU President Mark E. Keenum. "Jack's deep love of this university was always evident in his words and in his deeds. He was a tireless ambassador for Mississippi State and he brought great honor and distinction to our university as one of the most revered radio announcers in American history"; and
WHEREAS, a native of Memphis, Tennessee, Cristil was one of the South's most distinguished and most honored sports broadcasters. In 1992, Cristil received the Ronald Reagan Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Association of Sportscasters and Sportswriters. He was also the first noncoach/nonathlete inducted into the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame. In 1997, Cristil received perhaps the crown jewel of sports broadcasting honors, the Chris Schenkel Award. He was the second winner of the award, selected by the National Football Foundation, after its namesake, the veteran ABC Sports Commentator; and
WHEREAS, from 1947-1948, Cristil studied broadcast journalism at the University of Minnesota before returning home to Memphis and eventually launching his professional career; and
WHEREAS, Cristil, who was preceded in death by his late wife, Mavis, was the father of two daughters, Kay Clouatre Cristil and Rebecca (Andrew) Nelson. He is also survived by one grandson, Jack Clouatre, and one granddaughter, Lindsey Newhall; two sisters, Zelda Cristil Esgro and Miriam "Mimi" Cristil Lapides; and a number of nieces and nephews. Cristil was born December 10, 1925, in Memphis; and
WHEREAS, in the words of Jack Cristil's biographer Sid Salter, "Jack Cristil's loyalty was not to the wealthy alums, to the athletic program's big donors, to the coaches or to the Legislature. He recognized their importance and appreciated their contributions. Cristil brought a decidedly blue-collar work ethic to his broadcasting duties at MSU. His loyalty was to the MSU fan who might not ever have the free time or the money to attend a game in person but who still felt a connection to the university. Cristil's loyalty was to the man alone in the nursing home, the fixed-income widow, the mechanic under the car on Saturday afternoon, the cop on the beat and anyone who wasn't going to get a first-hand account of the game unless they got it from him on their radios"; and
WHEREAS, for generations of Mississippians for countless SEC and NCAA sports fans across the country, Jack Cristil was for 58 years their reliable, recognizable connection to Mississippi State University. The impression those listeners got from Cristil and, by extension, from MSU was that the university valued fairness, balance, accuracy, good sportsmanship and hard-charging competition regardless of the outcome. There is no more pleasing sound to the ear of MSU fans than the resonating voice of Jack Cristil giving his signature summation of a bulldog victory: "You can wrap this one in Mississippi State Maroon and White":
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES CONCURRING THEREIN, That we do hereby pay tribute to former "Voice of the Mississippi State Bulldogs" Jack Cristil and extend the condolences of the Mississippi Legislature to his surviving family.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That this resolution be presented to the surviving family of Jack Cristil, be forwarded to the President of Mississippi State University and the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning, and be made available to the Capitol Press Corps.
