Keith the Right Choice for Vols’ Voice

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Back in the late 80s, I would be laying out the sports pages for one of the myriad newspapers I worked for. I often was alone upstairs on those Monday nights and I’d bring my transistor radio (do they even make those anymore?) to the composition room to listen to Vol Calls, a show featuring interviews University of Tennessee coaches and highlights of recent games.

There was a familiar voice on the air, one that exuded confidence in talking about Tennessee athletics past and present. I’d hear the call-in portion and there was a guy who used to go to Bethel calling him. They Bethel guy was the host’s next-door neighbor when they were growing up. They had a good-natured exchange, which told me something about the radio host.

Fast forward to Tennessee’s football media day in August of 1997. A colleague sat next to me during Fulmer’s Q&A session while the media peppered the coach with questions. A familiar voice from the back row rang out with a question.

“Who is that guy? I’ve heard his voice before,” queried my pal.

“That’s Mike Keith. He hosts Vol Calls and does a lot of the pre-game and post-game stuff for Tennessee football and basketball.”

I knew who Keith was but hadn’t met him face-to-face until that day.

A couple of years later, that same colleague and I were having dinner in Knoxville. On the TV was a pre-season football game. The Tennessee Oilers were playing. It was Keith’s first foray as the Titan’s play-by-play guy. That was 27 years ago.

Last week, The University of Tennessee announced it would replace retiring Voice of the Vols Bob Kesling with the long-time Titans’ play-by-play announcer. I was hopeful the UT brass would pick one of two guys to call the Vols on radio and it knocked this one out of the park.

Keith has a sponge-like memory. His recall of facts and figures when it came to the Vols was unparalleled. I stopped following the NFL about a decade ago, but I can only deduce that Keith still has that kind of recall regarding the Titans/Oilers past and present.

About five months after the Music City Miracle, one of his legendary calls, he was visiting West Tennessee and I asked him about leaving the Big Orange fold to take on the Titans’ job. He was very clear about what he had in mind.

“I had a decision to make. Did I want to forever be a college football broadcaster or did I want to step into the role of an NFL announcer?”

His answer was rhetorical. Keep in mind, when Keith left Tennessee, John Ward was firmly rusted into the broadcast throne in Neyland Stadium’s press box. Of course, Ward retired after the 1998 season and Kesling was next in the pecking order.

Keith did get close to calling Big Orange football for a time in the mid-1990s. Ward was called to midfield during a game to receiver some sort of honor and Keith was on stand-by on the microphone in case Ward didn’t make it back upstairs in time. Ward did, however, so Keith’s expertise was deferred.

Keith not only had a memory for facts and figures, but he also remembered names, too. I was covering a Titans’ practice one day and Keith came over and stood next to me on the sideline. I said hello and he called me by name. I hadn’t seen him in about six months and, at the time, didn’t really know him that well, but he remembered. We struck up a professional friendship moving forward.

That kind of personality will serve him well.

There is a generation of UT fans who don’t remember Mike’s tenure in Knoxville. Similarly, as Kesling recently told me, there is a generation of UT fans who never heard of John Ward. In the not-to-distant future, Kesling won’t be easily recalled. That’s just the business.

Keith was in the Nashville press box for 27 years and called 535 Titans’ games. He leaves a lasting legacy with the NFL club.

Keith has big shoes to fill and a big tradition to follow. Going back to the days of General Neyland, the Vols have had four legendary  announcers: Lindsey Nelson, George Mooney, John Ward and Bob Kesling. It’s kind of cool to realize that I’ve gotten to know all of them through the years. It’s also pretty special that all but Mooney (Washington State) were Tennessee guys, though Mooney did represent UT well. I’m glad the UT brass stayed the course.

At 57 years old, I dare say Keith won’t be doing Vols football for that long, but rest assured, he’ll undoubtedly leave a lasting legacy behind the Vols’ mic, no matter how long he stays there.

In some respects, Keith already has reached legendary status.

Jim Steele is a correspondent for Richardson Media Group and may be reached on X @steelesports or via email at pressbox1@gmail.com.