Minnesota is known for being the birth place and home to some of the most famous people of our time. From great singers, like Bob Dylan and Prince, to legendary actors like Judy Garland and Vince Vaughn. It is hard to believe that all of these greats, and many more, could have come from one place. Yet there is one television personality rooted to Minnesota that many don’t realize, and that is CBS commentator, Verne Lundquist.
Verne was born on July 17th, 1940, in Duluth, Minnesota, about 150 from Stern Rubber’s Staples location. Verne’s family soon moved to Austin, Texas following his birth, and he later graduated from Austin High School. While still in Texas, Verne attended the Texas Lutheran Academy and while there, started the Omega Tau Fraternity in 1958, that is still active today. Verne graduated from college in 1962, and immediately knew he wanted to get into broadcasting. His career began as a sports anchor for WFAA network based in Dallas. While with WFAA, Verne began working for KTBC radio in Austin, and soon became the radio voice of the Dallas Cowboys. After 5 years with WFAA and KTBC, Verne got the opportunity to the Cowboys Radio Network in 1967, and would go on to be Texas’s radio voice of football for a little over 17 years, and even had the chance to cover the Cowboys second NFL title, when they won Super Bowl XII. While still with the Cowboys Radio Network, Verne went on to work for ABC in 1974, where he began hosting the show Bowling for Dollars in Dallas, and had the opportunity to work with and interview stars all across Texas, including Cowboys players and their first head coach Tom Landry. After a brief time with ABC, Verne went on to CBS in 1982, and continued on and off with the Network until this year, except for a short time from 1995 to 1997, where he transitioned over to TNT and then back to CBS in 1998.
While with CBS, Verne had the opportunity to cover many different sports, while primarily being the voice for college football and basketball. But Verne also had the opportunity to cover the Masters and the PGA Championship for the PGA tour, as well as several other professional football and basketball games. Verne’s icon voice was not just for cover spots, he was also featured in the 1998 film, Happy Gilmore, where he plays himself commentating the rounds of golf. Along with that, he also was one of the announcers on the video game College Hoops 2K8, in which they often quoted his famous line, “how do you do” which he used when there was a huge offensive or defensive play.
Verne is known for many icon lines throughout sports history including the famous call in Super Bowl XIII featuring the Dallas Cowboys and the Pittsburgh Steelers, in which he said “Bless his heart, he’s got to be the sickest man in America”, when Cowboys tight end Jackie Smith dropped a third quarter touchdown pass to tie the game.
Yet the most famous Lundquist line, in my opinion, came in the 1986 Masters, in which Jack Nicklaus won his 18th major victory at the age of 46. With everyone counting Nicklaus out from the get go, CBS was still showing coverage of the Golden Bear. On Sunday, the words of Lindquist’s voice echoed through American homes when he shouted “yes sir!” as Nicklaus made his birdie putt on the 17th hole, to take the lead for the first time in the tournament.
After nearly 55 years in broadcasting, at the age of 74, Verne will call his last game on Saturday December 10th, as Army takes on Navy, in what will be Lundquist’s final college football game in the booth. Although Verne’s time on television is coming to a close, his icon calls will still echo through the hearts of sports fans across the nation. Verne’s voice is one of the most legendary pieces of sports history to date, and he was born just outside of Stern Rubber’s back yard.