National Football Foundation

Jack Cristil was the voice of Mississippi State Bulldog football from 1953 to 2011. In his 58-year career, he called 636 games. Originally from Memphis, Cristil ventured up to the University of Minnesota to study broadcast journalism before returning to Bluff City.

Cristil began his play-by-play career calling minor league baseball games such as Jackson, Tenn., Anniston, Ala., and his hometown of Memphis. He started calling football at Clarksdale High School in Clarksdale, Miss., and in the fall of 1953, he submitted an audition tape to Mississippi State athletics director C.R. “Dudy” Noble. His first football game he called was a 34-6 win over the University of Memphis. Cristil called College Football Hall of Famers D.D. Lewis, Jackie Parker and Coach Darrell Royal, as well as NFF National Scholar-Athletes Frank Dowsing, Stacy Russell and Derek Sherrod.

Cristil is a 21-time winner of the Mississippi Broadcaster of the Year award and was also tabbed as the Southeastern Conference Broadcaster of the Year in 1988. He was inducted into the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame in 1991. He cited health issues as the reason for his retirement, and officially announced following a men’s basketball game against Louisiana State University in February 2011 at the age of 85. He passed away Sept. 7, 2014, at the age of 88.