Leo W. "Jack" Fleming was an American sports announcer for the
West Virginia MountaineersThe West Virginia Mountaineers are the athletic teams of West Virginia University. The school is a member of National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I and the Big East Conference. On July 1, 2012 the Mountaineers will switch conferences, moving from the Big East to the Big 12, becoming...
footballThe West Virginia Mountaineers football team represents West Virginia University in the NCAA FBS division of college football. Dana Holgorsen is the team's 33rd head coach. He has held the position since he was promoted in June 2011 after the resignation of Bill Stewart. The Mountaineers play their...
and
basketballBasketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
teams. He also served as the announcer for the NFL's
Pittsburgh SteelersThe Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team currently belongs to the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Founded in , the Steelers are the oldest franchise in the AFC...
and the NBA's
Chicago BullsThe Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago, Illinois, playing in the Central Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association . The team was founded in 1966. They play their home games at the United Center...
. One of his most famous calls was for the Steelers in 1972, on the '
Immaculate ReceptionThe Immaculate Reception is the nickname given to one of the most famous plays in the history of American football. It occurred in the AFC divisional playoff game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Oakland Raiders at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on December 23, 1972...
'.
Early life
Leo W. Fleming was a
United States Air ForceThe United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
navigator during
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. He flew 23 combat missions and began his
radioRadio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
career while recuperating at Ashford Military Hospital.
West Virginia University
Jack Fleming, also known as the "Voice of the Mountaineers", served as the school's football and basketball announcer from 1947–1959, 1962–1969 and 1974-1996. Some of Fleming's more memorable calls include calls on
Rod Thorn,
Major HarrisMajor Harris is a former college football quarterback for West Virginia University during the 1980s. Harris was a 1989 All American and finished third and fifth in the Heisman Trophy voting in 1988 and 1989, respectively. He was also the ECAC Player of the Year in 1988 and 1989...
,
Jeff HostetlerWilliam Jeffrey Hostetler is a former American football quarterback in the National Football League for the New York Giants, Los Angeles/Oakland Raiders, and Washington Redskins. His nickname is "Hoss".-Penn State:...
, Will Drewery, the infamous "
Flutie SackDouglas Richard "Doug" Flutie is a former American and Canadian football quarterback. Flutie played college football at Boston College, and played professionally in the National Football League, Canadian Football League, and United States Football League...
" in 1984, Pat Randolph,
Robert Walker'sRobert Walker was an American football running back for the West Virginia Mountaineers. Walker is most remembered for his game-winning run against Miami in 1993.-Collegiate career:...
game-winning touchdown run against
MiamiThe University of Miami is a private, non-sectarian university founded in 1925 with its main campus in Coral Gables, Florida, a medical campus in Miami city proper at Civic Center, and an oceanographic research facility on Virginia Key., the university currently enrolls 15,629 students in 12...
in 1993, Ed Hill's game-winning touchdown catch against
Boston CollegeBoston College is a private Jesuit research university located in the village of Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, USA. The main campus is bisected by the border between the cities of Boston and Newton. It has 9,200 full-time undergraduates and 4,000 graduate students. Its name reflects its early...
in 1993, and
Amos ZereoueAmos Zereoué is an African-born former American football player in the National Football League, who last played for the New England Patriots...
.
Fleming was a seven-time
West VirginiaWest Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...
sportscaster of the year winner, also receiving the 1996 Gene Morehouse Award from the West Virginia Sports Writers Association and the Chris Schenkel Award from the
College Football Hall of FameThe College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and museum devoted to college football. Located in South Bend, Indiana, it is connected to a convention center and situated in the city's renovated downtown district, two miles south of the University of Notre Dame campus. It is slated to move...
in 1999. In 1995, he was inducted into West Virginia University' Order of Vandalia, for outstanding service to the state and school.
Fleming was inducted into the West Virginia University Sports Hall of Fame in 2001.
Professional teams
Fleming also was the sports announcer for the
Pittsburgh SteelersThe Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team currently belongs to the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Founded in , the Steelers are the oldest franchise in the AFC...
of the
NFLThe National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
and the
Chicago BullsThe Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago, Illinois, playing in the Central Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association . The team was founded in 1966. They play their home games at the United Center...
of the
NBAThe National Basketball Association is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America. It consists of thirty franchised member clubs, of which twenty-nine are located in the United States and one in Canada...
. Fleming broadcast four
Super BowlThe Super Bowl is the championship game of the National Football League , the highest level of professional American football in the United States, culminating a season that begins in the late summer of the previous calendar year. The Super Bowl uses Roman numerals to identify each game, rather...
s, seven AFC Championship Games and an NBA All-Star Game during his tenure with both teams.
His most memorable call was in 1972 on the Steelers' "
Immaculate ReceptionThe Immaculate Reception is the nickname given to one of the most famous plays in the history of American football. It occurred in the AFC divisional playoff game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Oakland Raiders at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on December 23, 1972...
":
External links