A few weeks back, I was around when a young man got the opportunity to meet Don Munson.
The young man said to Don, “Don Munson! You are the Voice of the Tigers.”
Though appreciative of the recognition, Munson replied very politely, “No. No. I am not the Voice of the Tigers. That is and always will be Jim Phillips.”
He is right. Jim Phillips will always be the voice of the Clemson Tigers. He is who I grew up listening to every Saturday afternoon in the fall.
Jim Phillips and Clemson Athletics went hand-and-hand, especially Clemson Football.
From 1968 until his death in 2003, Phillips was the voice generations associated Clemson Football with. Like the great ones of his time, Phillips had some of the most iconic calls in Clemson history.
He called “The Catch” in 1977 after Jerry Butler made a leaping-twisting catch of a Steve Fuller pass in the final seconds to beat archrival South Carolina. He called Clemson’s dramatic win at Maryland to clinch the 1978 ACC Championship. He called the Tigers’ come-from-behind victory to stun Notre Dame on Senior Day in South Bend, Indiana.
Phillips called Willie Underwood’s two interception returns in Clemson’s upset of No. 14 South Carolina in 1980. He called both of David Treadwell’s last second field goals to break the hearts of Georgia fans everywhere in back-to-back years. He even called “Catch II” in 2000, when Woodrow Dantzler found Rod Gardner deep down the near sideline to set up Aaron Hunt’s game-winning field goal to beat the Gamecocks.
Some of my fondest memories from my youth were when my brother and I were playing football in the backyard and listening to the Clemson game. Every time there was a big play, we would stop what we were doing, and we would listen to Jim Phillips.
He called it all. Besides football, he called men’s and women’s basketball and baseball games. He was there for the biggest moments in all of those sports, too.
I am writing about Jim Phillips this morning because I watched a documentary on ESPN last night that chronicled the legendary careers of some of the SEC’s most iconic voices. Guy’s like Georgia’s Larry Munson, Tennessee’s John Ward, Alabama’s Eli Gold, Auburn’s Jim Fyffe and Rod Bramblett, and Mississippi State’s Jack Cristil, who was the Voice of the Bulldogs for 58 years.
All of them were legends, just like Phillips is to all of us who followed the Clemson Tigers during the 36 seasons he called Clemson games. Watching the documentary on Tuesday made me go back and search for some of Phillips’ calls. It brought back a lot of good memories and made me want to write this column.
The last time we all heard Phillips’ voice was on Sept. 6, 2003, when he called Clemson’s 28-17 win over Furman. That following Tuesday, he passed away due to an aneurysm of the aorta. He was 69 years old.
My favorite memories of Jim Phillips were listening to him call the 1981 season as the Tigers sent us all on a magical journey to an improbable national championship. His voice is forever etched in my mind, as each Saturday he told a different story as the Tigers ascended to No. 1 for the very first time.
The only disappointing part about the 1981 season was the fact Phillips could not call the 1982 Orange Bowl because NBC owned exclusive rights to the game.
But we all got to hear so many more great calls from Jim Phillips over the years, like his call of Treadwell’s game-winning kick in 1986 to beat Georgia “Between the Hedges” in Athens.
Like a lot of you, Phillips was a part of my life for so many years. He was there when the Tigers made me proud. He was there when they made me mad, and he was there when they made me cry.
It is a shame there are now generations of Clemson fans who never really got to hear Jim Phillips call a Clemson game.
Like Don Munson said, there is only one Voice of the Clemson Tigers and that will forever be Jim Phillips.
So, as I sign off this morning, I just want to write these words, and as you read this, I hope you hear Jim Phillips’ voice.
“Jim Phillips, so long everybody.”
–File Photo courtesy of Clemson Athletic Communications
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