Legendary broadcaster Verne Lundquist announces he'll retire after calling 40th Masters
Verne Lundquist will hang up his microphone this April after calling The Masters for the 40th time, CBS announced Wednesday.
Lundquist will end his legendary broadcasting career at 83 years old, and after calling some of the most iconic moments in the history of college sports and golf, plus a few other historic events.
Yes Sir!
As Verne Lundquist gets set to call his 40th Masters on CBS in April, he has announced that it will be his final Masters for the Network. pic.twitter.com/y9VxlliQKJ— Golf on CBS ⛳ (@GolfonCBS) February 14, 2024
That career might not have happened had Lundquist enjoyed studying to become a priest a little more. He was born in Duluth, Minnesota, in 1940 and moved around until his family settled in Austin, Texas, per the Duluth News Tribune. He graduated from Texas Lutheran University and then attended Augustana Seminary, but later said he didn't have the dedication needed to stick to that path:
"It's a 24-hour-a-day job, and boy, you better have a value system that gives you permission to be that involved in people's lives," Lundquist said. "I didn't, and I knew it, so I followed a different path."
Lundquist returned to Texas, where he embarked on a broadcasting career that carried him the next six decades.
He started work as a sports anchor for WFAA in Dallas and KTBC in Austin, then became the radio voice of the Dallas Cowboys in 1967, a job he did until 1984. He went network in 1974 when he joined ABC, then left for CBS in 1982.
It was with CBS where Lundquist's voice would leave a lasting impression in sports history. He would later say three moments stood out as his favorite calls: Jack Nicklaus winning the 1986 Masters ("Maybe ... yes, sir!" on the 17th hole), Christian Laettner's buzzer-beater to reach the 1992 Final Four ("There's the pass to Laettner ... puts it up ... yes!") and the Alabama-Auburn "Kick-Six" game in 2013 ("Touchdown, Auburn! An answered prayer!").
Lundquist retired from calling college football in 2016 and from college basketball in 2018, but continued to work on CBS's team for the PGA Championship and The Masters. You can only hope this last tournament will give him one more great moment.
