Charlie Jones (sportscaster)

Charlie Jones (November 9, 1930 – June 12, 2008) was an American Emmy Award-winning sportscaster for NBC and ABC.

Education
Born in Fort Smith, Arkansas, Jones earned an undergraduate degree at the University of Southern California and a law degree at the University of Arkansas.

American Football League/National Football League
Jones began his sportscasting career at local television and radio stations in Fort Smith, before signing on as a broadcaster for the fledgling Dallas Texans of the American Football League in 1960. Jones also began calling AFL games for ABC that year.

In 1965, he moved to NBC, continuing to broadcast the AFL and later the National Football League. He would work NFL games until 1997, when NBC lost their NFL (AFC) broadcasting rights to CBS. Among Jones' notable broadcasts was in January 1993 when he covered the Buffalo Bills vs. Houston Oilers wildcard game, in which the Bills rallied from a 35-3 second half deficit to defeat the Oilers in overtime.

In 1997, Jones was awarded the Pro Football Hall of Fame's Pete Rozelle Radio-Television Award. He also received an Emmy Award in 1973 for his part as writer, producer and host of the documentary Is Winning the Name of the Game?

Other broadcasting duties and appearances
During his time at NBC, Jones also broadcast the 1988 Summer Olympics, 1986 FIFA World Cup, 1991 Ryder Cup, 1992 Summer Olympics and 1996 Summer Olympics, as well as Major League Baseball, PGA Tour golf, and Wimbledon tennis. He was the play-by-play announcer for the 1986 college football national championship, where Penn State defeated Miami 14-10 in the 1987 Fiesta Bowl. He also was the announcer for auto races including the 1988 Meadowlands Grand Prix.

He was also a play-by-play announcer for the Cincinnati Reds in 1973, the California Angels in 1990, and the Colorado Rockies from 1993-95.

In the mid-1970s, he hosted Almost Anything Goes, The American Frontier, and Pro-Fan.

Jones, along with Frank Shorter, provided the voices of the TV announcers for a fictionalized staging of the U.S. Olympic Track and Field trials in the 1982 film Personal Best.

Death
Jones died at age 77 in La Jolla, California of a massive heart attack.