Legendary Sportscaster Keith Jackson Honored With Statue At Rose Bowl

Anita Bennett

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Late sportscaster Keith Jackson was remembered Saturday with a statue in his likeness unveiled outside the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California.

The statue depicts Jackson on game day holding a microphone with the Rose Bowl logo, and was paid for through a crowdfunding effort spearheaded by the Rose Bowl Legacy Foundation.

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“For over 50 years, he was a symbol of togetherness and inspiration for sports fans across the globe,” the foundation said in a statement about Jackson. “As a mentor and father figure to some, he felt like a friend to millions watching from their homes.”

Jackson, who famously branded the Rose Bowl game the “Granddaddy of Them All,” died at age 89 on January 12, 2018.

During his legendary career, he called the Rose Bowl a record 15 times. The stadium’s broadcast center was renamed in his honor in 2015.

Among Jackson’s other accolades, he won an Emmy Award and was inducted into two sportscasting halls of fame. Beyond college football, he worked college and pro basketball games, Major League Baseball, auto racing, Summer and Winter Olympics and, was the first play-by-play announcer for NFL’s “Monday Night Football” on ABC.

Jackson retired with the 2006 Rose Bowl after more than 40 years with ABC. His signature phrase for a big moment, “Whoa, Nellie!” was frequently repeated by fans.

Jackson’s is the third statue at the stadium. The others are of Jackie Robinson, dedicated in 2017, and Brandi Chastain, dedicated in July honoring the U.S. Women’s National Team that won the World Cup at the Rose Bowl
in 1999.

City News Service contributed to this report.

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