By KEVIN HARRIS
Kevin.Harris@newsandtribune.com
JEFFERSONVILLE —
Ted Throckmorton has several passions in his life.
The 82-year-old Jeffersonville native loves to spend time with his family and friends, try to shoot his age on an area golf course and give back to others.
Along with those three passions, Throckmorton enjoys broadcasting area high school football and basketball games on radio as a color commentator. In fact, that passion has lasted for 48 years and counting and he has done it without asking for a dime from the stations he has worked for.
“It’s a hobby that I can’t cut off yet. It’s a tremendous way to be a part of the community,” Throckmorton said. “I do it because, one, I like being involved with the athletes in the community. And two, it makes me feel young. It’s a tremendous way to be a part of the community.”
On April 16 in Indianapolis, Throckmorton will be honored for his longevity and dedication. He will be inducted into the Indiana Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association Hall of Fame.
“It’s going to be a special event and I’m looking forward to it,” said Throckmorton, who says arrangements have been made by several of his friends to go up to Indy to watch his induction ceremony.
Two current Hall of Fame members helped nominate Throckmorton for induction in longtime Southern Indiana broadcaster Charlie Jenkins and veteran broadcaster Sam Simmermaker from Columbus.
Jenkins and Throckmorton broadcasted high school football and basketball games in the Clark-Floyd area for 35 years at the defunct WXVW-AM, which was located in Jeff.
Jenkins, who now broadcasts New Albany High School basketball and football games on WKRD-AM and WKJK-AM, says no one deserves to go into the Hall more than Throckmorton.
“I thought he was the perfect person for the award. He certainly deserves it,” Jenkins said. “He has been a person who has really worked hard. He has always been the type of person who is there to help. I miss him on the broadcasts. He has always provided good analysis and has always been good with statistics.”
One person has been by Throckmorton’s side throughout his 48-year career in the booth. That man is Gene Coomer, a Clarksville resident who kept game statistics during Throckmorton’s first contest in his broadcasting career and has done those duties nearly every game since.
“He’s very deserving,” Coomer said about his longtime friend making the Hall. “He’s done a terrific job throughout the years and his enthusiasm is great, too. I always have a lot of fun with him.”
Gil Daugherty, who was Throckmorton’s play-by-play partner at WAVG-AM for 10 years, shares Coomer’s sentiments.
“There is no doubt about it,” Daugherty said how deserving Throckmorton is to be going into the Hall. “Of all the people in Southern Indiana, Teddy is the most qualified. I attribute that to his knowledge of the game and he is very adaptable.”
The school Throckmorton has broadcasted the most throughout his career has been his alma mater, Jeffersonville High School. Throckmorton has never been shy to express his love and affection for Red Devil athletics on the air.
“Teddy is so loyal to Red Devil sports programs. He loves it and breathes it,” Daugherty said.
“(He has) a passion for Jeff High sports and a passion to share Jeff High with the public,” said Coomer, who also graduated from Jeff.
But Throckmorton also has given color commentary on several other high school events involving Clark-Floyd schools like New Albany, Providence, Floyd Central, Silver Creek, Clarksville and Charlestown. Most of those games were in the postseason when either Jeff’s football or boys’ basketball seasons were over.
“I know I’m a homer,” Throckmorton said. “But if it’s Jeff and New Albany playing each other or Jeff and Providence playing, I can be independent.”
A good example of Throckmorton’s devotion to all Southern Indiana schools was his broadcasting of the old one-class IHSAA boys’ basketball state finals with Jenkins for a 25-year span at WXVW.
Along with giving color commentary for six of Jeff’s state finals appearances (1972, 1974, 1976, 1992, 1993 and 1995), Throckmorton called four of New Albany’s four Final Four trips (1973, 1980, 1994 and 1996). That included the Bulldogs’ 1973 state championship. Plus he broadcasted Floyd Central’s state finals appearance in 1989.
This season, Throckmorton is broadcasting Jeff High football and boys’ basketball games on KOOL 1570 AM in Clarksville after WQKC-AM, his previous station, shut down earlier this year.
Of course, the biggest moment in Throckmorton’s broadcasting career was when he called his beloved Red Devils’ 1993 state championship victory, a 66-61 win over Indianapolis Ben Davis. It is still the only state title in the history of the Jeff boys’ program.
“That’s what so many people longed for and waited for,” Throckmorton said. “It was a pure championship and a very special day in my broadcasting career.”
For a time, it looked like Throckmorton would be back on the air until his play-by-play partner for the past two years, Zach McCrite, convinced 1570 to put their area high school broadcasts on the air for the football and basketball campaigns.
“I was hoping in some way that Zach would find something,” Throckmorton said. “Zach bought the on-air time and is selling the (advertising).”
McCrite is living a dream broadcasting alongside Throckmorton. McCrite grew up listening to Throckmorton and Jenkins, and Throckmorton helped McCrite get an internship at WXVW in 1995.
McCrite, a Providence graduate, says it is a joy working with Throckmorton.
“I’ve wanted to be a play-by-play guy since I was 12 years old, and I learned to be one by listening to Ted and Charlie Jenkins,” McCrite said. “It is a treat every week because he’s ultimately the mixture of class and Tom-foolery. On the air, he’s class. Off the air, it’s joke after joke. With Ted, it’s constant entertainment and it never dies.”
Throckmorton says he has no immediate plans to walk away from the broadcast booth. He keeps calling the games because he still loves watching the players and the competition.
“I know the time will come that I will quit, but it’s a hobby that I can’t cut off yet,” Throckmorton said. “(The kids) all improve, they all move forward and we stand back and watch them. To see them succeed is very special.”
