Paul Keels: 21 years calling Ohio State; A booming voice that covers the Buckeye Nation like a blanket
Keels talks Jim Tressel, the Woody Hayes punch, Thad Matta and identifies the top 5 OSU football and basketball players he's seen
Paul Keels’ booming voice fills rooms and cars with an immaculate and unmistakable beat. His crisp play-calling on radio of Ohio State football and basketball never leaves the listener in doubt. It’s graphic, economical and spot-on.
Keels is now inextricably linked with the Buckeyes whose games he’s called for a score of years; through two national titles and three trips to the Final Four.
Longtime Voice of football and basketball, fills in on baseball too
Players and coaches come and go. Yet schools’ longtime play-by play announcers are as recognizable as the teams they cover. Fans think of them as longtime friends, those who share in the joy of victories and commiserate in the misery of defeats. They are forever part of the tapestry, drawing pictures of the familiar and the unfamiliar.
Some of the memorable broadcasters of the past include Larry Munson at Georgia, John Ward at Tennessee, Woody Durham at North Carolina, Cawood Ledford at Kentucky, Bob Ufer at Michigan, Ray Christensen at Minnesota, Jim Zabel at Iowa and Lyell Bremser at Nebraska. They’re all dead now but each left an unforgettable legacy. They all had distinct styles and many had catchy signature lines.
In this unimaginable world of digital conveniences, picture painting on radio is a disappearing act. For years, radio was a necessity. It kept fans abreast. Still, today, there are many vibrant announcers who’ve presided over their friendly microphones for thirty or more years. They get it. Each one is an artist with his own distinct brush and palette.
They include Bill Hillgrove at Pittsburgh, Don Fischer at Indiana, Johnny Holliday at Maryland, Joe Starkey at California, George Blaha at Michigan State, Gene Deckerhoff at Florida State and Mick Hubert at Florida. Last week we profiled the Tide’s Eli Gold whose name is as well known in Alabama as the governor’s.
Keels comes and goes quietly. You wouldn’t know he’s there until you hear his voice because it leaves an unambiguous vocal stamp. The depth of Paul’s baritone is so strong that it enters the room before he does. He arrived in Columbus in 1998 after stops in Detroit, Dayton and calling Bengals and Bearcats games in Cincinnati.
An interviewer once asked him whether he got into broadcasting because he knew he had an overpowering voice. Surprisingly, he said that when he first listened to a recording of it, he thought it was high pitched, squeaky and whiny; not sonorous and syrupy, the sound that blankets the state each Saturday.
Keels doesn’t have any shtick or use signature phrases. He calls games naturally, no customized script. Years ago, I was impressed when hearing him for the first time on football and basketball. He’s always cognizant of the fundamentals. As teams break huddle for virtually every play from scrimmage, he gives the score and time remaining. Ditto for hoops on every change of possession. The broadcasts don’t turn into a talk show.
The marvelous announcer and broadcast coach Marty Glickman told those whom he taught, from Marv Albert down, “The most important thing you must do on radio is give the score and the time remaining. You can’t overdo it.” The pioneer Red Barber kept an egg-timer on the counter in his broadcast booth, not to allow much time to elapse before relaying the score.
Entire article:
https://www.sportsbroadcastjournal....hat-covers-the-buckeye-nation-like-a-blanket/