Merton Laverne "Verne" Lundquist, Jr. (born July 17, 1940) is an American
sportscasterIn sports broadcasting, a commentator gives a running commentary of a game or event in real time, usually during a live broadcast. The comments are normally a voiceover, with the sounds of the action and spectators also heard in the background. In the case of television commentary, the commentator...
, currently employed by
CBS SportsCBS Sports is a division of CBS Broadcasting which airs sporting events on the American television network. Its headquarters are in the CBS Building on West 52nd Street in midtown Manhattan, New York City, with programs produced out of Studio 43 at the CBS Broadcast Center on West 57th Street.CBS...
television.
Early life and career
Lundquist was born in
Duluth, MinnesotaDuluth is a port city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and is the county seat of Saint Louis County. The fourth largest city in Minnesota, Duluth had a total population of 86,265 in the 2010 census. Duluth is also the second largest city that is located on Lake Superior after Thunder Bay, Ontario,...
. He graduated from
Austin High SchoolStephen F. Austin High School, or more commonly Austin High, founded in 1881, is one of the oldest public high schools west of the Mississippi River, and was the first public high school in the state of Texas....
in
Austin, TexasAustin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...
, before attending
Texas Lutheran UniversityTexas Lutheran University is an undergraduate, private, coeducational university affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. The University was founded in 1891, and currently serves approximately 1,400 students each semester....
(formerly Texas Lutheran College), where he also founded the Omega Tau Fraternity (ΩΤ) in 1958 before graduating in 1962.
He began his broadcasting career as sports anchor for WFAA in Dallas and in
Austin, TexasAustin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...
for
KTBCKTBC, channel 7, is the Fox owned-and-operated television station in Austin, Texas. Studios are located in downtown Austin at the corner of 10th and Brazos Streets , and its transmitter is located in the city....
, as well as being the radio voice of the
Dallas CowboysThe Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football franchise which plays in the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League . They are headquartered in Valley Ranch in Irving, Texas, a suburb of Dallas...
. WFAA-TV is
ABCThe American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
's station in Dallas, Texas. Lundquist joined the Cowboys Radio Network in 1967 and remained with the team until the 1984 season. He was paired with future (and now current) play-by-play man
Brad ShamBrad Michael Sham is an American sportscaster who is known as the "Voice of the Dallas Cowboys". Sham is currently heard on the Dallas Cowboys Radio Network, including the flagship stations 1080 AM KRLD, where Sham held the position of Sports Director between 1976 and 1981; and 105.3 KRLD-FM "The...
starting with the 1977 season, the year the Cowboys went 12-2 (winning the first eight games of the season) and captured their second NFL championship in
Super Bowl XIISuper Bowl XII was an American football game played on January 15, 1978 at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana to decide the National Football League champion following the 1977 regular season...
.
Nationally, Lundquist worked for ABC Sports from 1974 to 1981, then moved to CBS (1982–1995) and
TNTTurner Network Television is an American cable television channel created by media mogul Ted Turner and currently owned by the Turner Broadcasting System division of Time Warner...
cable (1995–1997) before returning to CBS in 1998. Lundquist was featured as himself commenting on the golf games in the movie
Happy GilmoreHappy Gilmore is a 1996 sports comedy film directed by Dennis Dugan and produced by Robert Simonds for Universal Studios. It stars Adam Sandler as the title character, an unsuccessful ice hockey player who discovers a talent for golf. The screenplay was written by Sandler and Tim Herlihy...
.
Currently, Lundquist resides in Steamboat Springs, Colorado.
Network assignments
Before becoming a nationwide sports commentator, from 1970 to 1974, Verne Lundquist was commentator for the sports show,
Bowling for DollarsBowling for Dollars is a television game show on which people could play the sport of bowling to win cash and sometimes prizes based on how well they bowled....
, in
Dallas, TexasDallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...
. It aired weekday evenings on
ABCThe American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
station, WFAA-TV, from 6:30 to 7:00, in north central Texas. During these four seasons, Lundquist starting interviewing
Dallas CowboysThe Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football franchise which plays in the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League . They are headquartered in Valley Ranch in Irving, Texas, a suburb of Dallas...
players and their first head coach,
Tom LandryThomas Wade "Tom" Landry was an American football player and coach. He is ranked as one of the greatest and most innovative coaches in National Football League history, creating many new formations and methods...
, at their sidelines, during halftimes, practices, pre-season and pre-game warm-ups, in Dallas.
Lundquist currently does play-by-play for CBS
college footballThe SEC on CBS is a presentation of the college football television package owned by CBS Sports...
(teaming with
Gary DanielsonGary Danielson is a former professional football player, a quarterback in the National Football League . He played for the Detroit Lions from 1976 to 1984 and for the Cleveland Browns in 1985, 1987, and 1988...
on the network's broadcast of
Southeastern ConferenceThe Southeastern Conference is an American college athletic conference that operates in the southeastern part of the United States. It is headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama...
games) and
college basketballCollege basketball most often refers to the USA basketball competitive governance structure established by the National Collegiate Athletic Association . Basketball in the NCAA is divided into three divisions: Division I, Division II and Division III....
action, as well as The Masters and
PGA ChampionshipThe PGA Championship is an annual golf tournament conducted by the PGA of America as part of the PGA Tour. It is one of the four major championships in men's professional golf, and is the golf season's final major, usually played in mid-August, customarily four weeks after The Open Championship...
golf tournaments. He is also among the key voices of
NFL FilmsNFL Films is a Mount Laurel, New Jersey-based company devoted to producing commercials, television programs, feature films, and documentaries on the National Football League, as well as other unrelated major events and awards shows...
, and in past years had called regional
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...
games for
CBSThe NFL on CBS is the brand name of the CBS television network's coverage of the National Football League's American Football Conference games, produced by CBS Sports.-Market coverage and television policies:...
,
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...
games for CBS and TNT, and
TNT'sTurner Sports is the division of Turner Broadcasting System responsible for sports broadcasts on Turner channels including TBS, TNT, and TruTV, and for operating the interactive properties , , , and...
Sunday Night FootballThe NFL on TNT was the weekly United States television broadcast by Turner Network Television of Sunday evening National Football League games.-Sunday night games :...
telecasts. He called television play-by-play on
Seattle SeahawksThe Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle, Washington. They are currently members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team joined the NFL in 1976 as an expansion team...
pre-season games from 2006 to 2008. Lundquist's patented belly laugh and his contagious enthusiasm for the events he covers have made him one of the more prominent and recognizable on-air talents in network TV.
During the 1992, 1994 and 1998 Winter Olympics, whose rights were held by CBS and TNT, Lundquist and
Scott HamiltonScott Scovell Hamilton is an American figure skater and Olympic gold medalist. He won four consecutive U.S. championships , four consecutive World Championships and a gold medal in the 1984 Olympics....
served as the announcers for
figure skatingFigure skating is an Olympic sport in which individuals, pairs, or groups perform spins, jumps, footwork and other intricate and challenging moves on ice skates. Figure skaters compete at various levels from beginner up to the Olympic level , and at local, national, and international competitions...
events. Their performances were parodied by
Saturday Night LiveSaturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
cast members
Phil HartmanPhilip Edward "Phil" Hartman was a Canadian-American actor, comedian, screenwriter, and graphic artist. Born in Brantford, Ontario, Hartman and his family moved to the United States when he was 10...
and
Darrell HammondDarrell Hammond is an American actor, stand-up comedian and impressionist. He was a regular on Saturday Night Live from 1995 until 2009, the longest tenure of any cast member. Upon his departure, Hammond, at age 53, was the oldest cast member in the show's history...
(as Lundquist) with
Dana CarveyDana Thomas Carvey is an American actor and stand-up comedian, best known for his work as a cast member on Saturday Night Live and for playing the role of Garth in the Wayne's World movies.-Early life:...
,
David SpadeDavid Wayne Spade is an American actor, comedian and television personality who first became famous in the 1990s as a cast member on Saturday Night Live, and from 1997 until 2003 when he starred as Dennis Finch on Just Shoot Me!. He also starred as C.J...
, and
Will FerrellJohn William "Will" Ferrell is an American comedian, impressionist, actor, and writer. Ferrell first established himself in the late 1990s as a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live, and has subsequently starred in the comedy films Old School, Elf, Anchorman, Talladega...
(both as Hamilton): in 1992 with
Jason PriestleyJason Bradford Priestley is a Canadian-American actor and director. He is best known as the virtuous Brandon Walsh on the television series Beverly Hills, 90210, a role which catapulted him to recognition in the early 1990s....
and 1994 with
Nancy KerriganNancy Ann Kerrigan is a two-time American Olympic figure skating medalist and 1993 U.S. champion.-Early life and skating career:...
and
Chris FarleyChristopher Crosby "Chris" Farley was an American comedian and actor. Farley was a member of Chicago's Second City Theatre and cast member of the NBC sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live from 1990 to 1995....
they did a spoof of the Olympics figure skating events, as both Hartman and Myers went "Oh!" when Priestly or Farley (in a pre-recorded performance) did an on-ice pratfall. Lundquist, after seeing the original footage in 1992, commented that Hartman "nailed it dead on."
Lundquist also backed up for
Chris SchenkelChristopher Eugene "Chris" Schenkel was an American sportscaster. Over the course of five decades he called play-by-play for numerous sports on television and radio, becoming known for his smooth delivery and baritone voice.-Early life and career:Schenkel began his broadcasting career at radio...
on ABC's
Pro Bowlers TourThe Professional Bowlers Tour, also known as Pro Bowlers Tour, is a broadcast of the Professional Bowlers Association that aired on ABC from 1961 to 1997...
in 1978 during a tournament in Grand Prairie, TX.
Memorable calls
While calling the Cowboys' radio broadcast of
Super Bowl XIIISuper Bowl XIII was an American football game played on January 21, 1979 at the Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida to decide the National Football League champion following the 1978 regular season...
against 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...
, Lundquist famously said,
"Bless his heart, he's got to be the sickest man in America!" after Cowboys
tight endThe tight end is a position in American football on the offense. The tight end is often seen as a hybrid position with the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a wide receiver. Like offensive linemen, they are usually lined up on the offensive line and are large enough to be...
Jackie SmithJackie Larue Smith is a former professional American football player in the National Football League. He played tight end for the St. Louis Cardinals and the Dallas Cowboys from 1963 to 1978. He has career marks of 480 receptions, 7,918 yards, and 40 touchdowns...
dropped a 3rd quarter
touchdownA touchdown is a means of scoring in American and Canadian football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone.-Description:...
pass, which would have tied the game at 21.
Lundquist was also the play-by-play man for the 1992 Regional Final between
KentuckyThe University of Kentucky, also known as UK, is a public co-educational university and is one of the state's two land-grant universities, located in Lexington, Kentucky...
and
DukeDuke University is a private research university located in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present day town of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco industrialist James B...
, where
Christian LaettnerChristian Donald Laettner is a retired American professional basketball player and entrepreneur. He had a distinguished college and national career, and played in the National Basketball Association for thirteen seasons, from 1992–2005. He is presently a minority holder for the Major League...
hit a 17-foot jumper at the buzzer to win the game in overtime.
"Here's the pass to Laettner...puts it up...YES!!!" In 2006, he announced another memorable college basketball game (
George MasonGeorge Mason University is a public university based in unincorporated Fairfax County, Virginia, United States, south of and adjacent to the city of Fairfax. Additional campuses are located nearby in Arlington County, Prince William County, and Loudoun County...
vs.
ConnecticutThe admission rate to the University of Connecticut is about 50% and has been steadily decreasing, with about 28,000 prospective students applying for admission to the freshman class in recent years. Approximately 40,000 prospective students tour the main campus in Storrs annually...
) in the Elite 8. In George Mason's historic upset of UCONN, Verne announced
"By George, the dream is alive!" He was a play-by-play announcer in the
NBA Live '98 video game and was also the play-by-play announcer in the
College Hoops 2K8College Hoops 2K8 is a video game by Visual Concepts and 2K Sports. It was released on November 19, 2007 for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 2 and PlayStation 3.The cover features Portland Trail Blazers center Greg Oden, formerly of the Ohio State Buckeyes....
video game.
Lundquist also called two famous golf shots at the Masters. Most recently, Lundquist called
Tiger WoodsEldrick Tont "Tiger" Woods is an American professional golfer whose achievements to date rank him among the most successful golfers of all time. Formerly the World No...
' dramatic chip-in bridie on #16 at the
2005 Masters TournamentThe 2005 Masters Tournament was the 69th Masters Tournament, played from April 7-10 at Augusta National Golf Club. Tiger Woods won his fourth Masters after a thrilling playoff with Chris DiMarco. Rain was a factor the whole week, delaying much of the play. The purse was $7.0 million and Woods...
, yelling
"Here it comes...Oh, my goodness!...OH, WOW!! IN YOUR LIFE, have you seen anything like that?" In 1986, he called
Jack NicklausJack William Nicklaus , nicknamed "The Golden Bear", is an American professional golfer. He won 18 career major championships on the PGA Tour over a span of 25 years and is widely regarded as one of the greatest professional golfers of all time. In addition to his 18 Majors, he was runner-up a...
' birdie putt on #17, with the famous line:
"Maybe...YES, SIR!" Lundquist played himself commentating on tournaments in the 1996 motion picture
Happy GilmoreHappy Gilmore is a 1996 sports comedy film directed by Dennis Dugan and produced by Robert Simonds for Universal Studios. It stars Adam Sandler as the title character, an unsuccessful ice hockey player who discovers a talent for golf. The screenplay was written by Sandler and Tim Herlihy...
. He also commentates for college football games. Another pet phrase Lundquist uses on occasion is
"How, do you DO!"; on a huge offensive or defensive play, a phrase he took from
Southern CalThe University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...
football broadcaster Pete Arbogast (who in turn took the phrase from venerable broadcaster
Vin ScullyVincent Edward Scully is an American sportscaster, known primarily as the play-by-play voice of the Brooklyn and Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team on Prime Ticket, KCAL-TV and KABC radio...
).
Lundquist filled in for
Ernie Johnson Jr.Ernest Johnson, Jr. is a sportscaster for Turner Sports coverage on TNT and TBS.-Childhood:Johnson went to Mother of Good Counsel for his grade school...
as host of
TNTTNT's golf coverage is produced by Turner Sports and consists of television broadcasts of some of the key professional golf events in the United States...
's coverage of the PGA Championship twice, in
2006The 2006 PGA Championship was the 88th PGA Championship, played from August 17 to August 20 at Medinah Country Club Course No. 3. The PGA Championship returned to Medinah for the first time since 1999 when Tiger Woods captured his first PGA Championship...
as Johnson was battling cancer, and in
2011The 2011 PGA Championship was the 93rd PGA Championship. Keegan Bradley won his first major championship, in a three-hole playoff over Jason Dufner. The tournament began on Thursday, August 11, 2011 and concluded on Sunday, August 14...
when Johnson left after the second round following the death of
his fatherErnest Thorwald Johnson was a Major League Baseball pitcher. The 6'4", 195 lb. right-hander was signed by the Boston Braves as an amateur free agent before the season. He played for the Boston Braves , Milwaukee Braves , and Baltimore Orioles .-Playing career:After serving three years in the U.S...
on that Friday night.
Honors
At the 2005
Sun BowlThe Sun Bowl is an annual U.S. college football bowl game that is usually played at the end of December in El Paso, Texas. The Sun Bowl, along with the Sugar Bowl and the Orange Bowl are the second-oldest bowl games in the country, behind the Rose Bowl...
, Lundquist was inducted into the Sun Bowl Hall of Fame along with
UCLA BruinsThe UCLA Bruins are the sports teams for University of California, Los Angeles . The Bruin men's and women's teams participate in NCAA Division I as part of the Pacific-12 Conference and the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation . For football, they are in the Football Bowl Subdivision of Division I...
football coach
Terry DonahueTerry Donahue is a former American football, player, coach, and executive and, currently, a football analyst. He served as the head football coach at the University of California, Los Angeles from 1976 to 1995, compiling a record of 151–74–8. From 2001 to 2005, Donahue served as...
. In 2007 the
National Sportscasters and Sportswriters AssociationThe National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association, or NSSA, is an organization of sports media members in the United States. It constitutes the American chapter of the International Sports Press Association ....
elected him for induction to its Hall of Fame.
In broadcasting circles, Lundquist is affectionately known as "The Golden Throat".