Jack Eaton's Obituary
Jack Eaton, longtime sports director and sports anchor for WMC-TV Channel 5 and play-by-play announcer for University of Memphis basketball and football for many years, died Wednesday. He was 86.Mr. Eaton, born in Warren, Pa., was known for his unabashed partisanship for the Tigers, his unabashed hatred of Louisville, and his exclamations of “Great Scott” and “Great Caesar’s Ghost” during the Tiger broadcasts.He was also recognized for his short, sports-themed poems, many of which he read on the air. His love for poetry led to the publication of 100 of his poems in 2008 in a book titled: “Great Scott, I Rhyme a Lot.”Mr. Eaton began his broadcasting career in 1954 in Columbus, Ga., and moved to Memphis in 1956. He served as sports director and anchor at Channel 5 until his retirement in 1991. He called Memphis Tigers basketball from 1959-87 and added football from 1964-86.Mr. Eaton also handled play-by-play of local high school football games and Memphis Chicks pro baseball games in the late 1950s. In 1959, he handled the first Memphis television broadcast of professional wrestling, which would became a Saturday morning staple at the station.In February 2011, Mr. Eaton was inducted into the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame along with, among others, former University of Tennessee football coach Bill Battle.The family will receive friends on Saturday, February 6 from 9:30-11:00 at Christ the King on 5296 Park, Mphs, TN with the service to follow at 11:00. All services will be held at Christ the King.Funeral arrangements have been entrusted to Memorial Park Funeral Home and Cemetery, 5668 Poplar Ave. Memphis, TN 38119. “Celebrating Life… Behind the Stone Wall”The service will be live webcasted. Please use link below http://www.ctkmemphis.com/live-video-streaming
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