The Voice of the Mountaineers

On fall Saturday afternoons in Wellsburg, West Virginia, the WVU Mountaineers were on the radio. I could go from place to place and hear Jack Fleming, the long time “Voice of the Mountaineers.” In my father’s men’s clothing store, around the corner in Bill’s Barber Shop, on the car radio, and even up at Cipoletti’s Esso station, people were listening. I imagine it was true throughout the state, folks taking a break on a Saturday afternoon to follow the West Virginia University Mountaineers.

From 1947 through 1996, with a few gaps in between, the radio voice that represented Mountaineer sports was Jack Fleming. For almost 50 years, he described the WVU great athletes along with the mediocre. Always with enthusiasm and pride. Those of us in Steeler Country got an extra bonus of hearing him again on Sunday, broadcasting our favorite Pittsburgh Steelers.

On the weekend of the 100th Pitt game, with the Mountaineers on the brink of playing for their first National Championship, I’m reminded of Jack Fleming, The Voice of the Mountaineers.