You're so right Carl.....

[Saniflush]

He can finally hear that again.

Carl Stephens, host of Shug Jordan's TV show & voice of Jordan-Hare, passes away



Carl Stephens, who was the public address announcer at Jordan-Hare Stadium for 27 years and also was the host of Ralph “Shug” Jordan’s weekly television show, died Wednesday evening in Montgomery.

He was 77.

 

Here’s Auburn University’s press release on the passing of Stephens:

Carl Stephens, the longtime voice of Jordan-Hare Stadium for 27 Auburn football seasons and host of Coach Ralph “Shug” Jordan’s weekly one-hour television show, passed away Wednesday evening in Montgomery at the age of 77.

Stephens, who provided a vocal presence at numerous Auburn and Southeastern Conference athletic events for five decades, called his last game at Jordan-Hare Stadium on Nov. 19, 2005, when Auburn defeated Alabama, 28-18.

As Sports Director at WSFA-TV in Montgomery from 1963-75, Stephens served as the producer and host of Coach Jordan's weekly television show where the popular Auburn phrase, "You're so right, Carl" was born. Following Stephens' opening comments of each show, Coach Jordan would respond with, "You're so right, Carl."

"The Auburn Family has lost a true gentleman and one of the university's greatest ambassadors in the death of Carl Stephens,” Auburn Director of Athletics Jay Jacobs said. “Generations of Auburn fans knew Carl's voice as PA announcer at Jordan-Hare Stadium, other Auburn athletic venues and as the host of the Auburn Football Review during Coach Jordan's tenure. As a player at Auburn, hearing Carl's voice always made you feel at home.

“Carl was universally respected as a tremendous professional, having been the public address voice for the first 15 SEC Championship football games and other SEC events.” Jacobs said. “As great as his professional accomplishments were, those who knew and loved Carl will most remember him as one of the kindest men you could ever hope to meet. Carl was a legend who will be truly missed by us all. My thoughts and prayers are with his wife, Mary, their children Richard and Sandra, and grandchildren."

Along with his duties as host of the Auburn Football Review and duties at Jordan-Hare Stadium, Stephens also served as the PA announcer at Auburn basketball and baseball games and as the voice of the Auburn Marching Band at football games.

In addition to his work for Auburn, Stephens was the public address voice for the first 15 Southeastern Conference Football Championship games, 14 SEC Basketball Tournaments and six SEC Baseball Tournaments. Stephens also did public address work for NCAA Basketball Tournament games in Birmingham.

Prior to the 1973 Auburn football season, Stephens was asked to take on additional responsibility with Auburn as its public address announcer at then Cliff Hare Stadium. Stephens held the PA duties at Auburn football for three seasons before moving to Columbia, S.C., to serve as Program Director for WIS-TV for two years.

Stephens returned to Montgomery in 1978 as Program/Promotions Manager for WSFA and resumed his PA duties at Jordan-Hare Stadium for the 1979 Auburn football season, which he has held ever since.

A native of Gadsden, Stephens began at WSFA in 1957 and with the exception of a two-year stint in Columbia, S.C., spent his entire professional career with the station until his retirement in 1998.

Stephens is survived by his wife, Mary, son Richard, daughter Sandra and several grandchildren.

[Kaos]

That's incredibly depressing. 

Games will never be the same.  Maybe they recorded all that and can just do a soundboard.  Over the years he's bound to have called every possible situation.

[Saniflush]

That's incredibly depressing. 

Games will never be the same.  Maybe they recorded all that and can just do a soundboard.  Over the years he's bound to have called every possible situation.

Yeah I know.  Feels like a part of my memories are now gone.  Not unlike the 2003 when Jim Fyffe died although that was obviously much more sudden.

[Godfather]

Yeah I know.  Feels like a part of my memories are now gone.  Not unlike the 2003 when Jim Fyffe died although that was obviously much more sudden.

He was dying for years.

[AUJarhead]

He was dying for years.

Sure, but... the end was very... very sudden.

[Kaos]

He was dying for years.

So are we all. 

Tired of lying in the sunshine staying home to watch the rain.
You are young and life is long and there is time to kill today.
And then one day you find ten years have got behind you.
No one told you when to run, you missed the starting gun.

So you run and you run to catch up with the sun but it's sinking
Racing around to come up behind you again.
The sun is the same in a relative way but you're older,
Shorter of breath and one day closer to death.

[AUChizad]

Does anyone have a video or audio link with his voice?

I'm trying to place him. I thought I knew who they were talking about, but they said his last game was in 2005.

Either the guy on the PA now is the same one it has been for decades, or he does a hell of a Carl Stephens impression.

[Godfather]

Honestly I think much like the head cheerleader, they always sound the same through the sound system.

and AUJar = consistency.

[Buzz Killington]

Does anyone have a video or audio link with his voice?

I'm trying to place him. I thought I knew who they were talking about, but they said his last game was in 2005.

Either the guy on the PA now is the same one it has been for decades, or he does a hell of a Carl Stephens impression.

The "new" guy sounds like a younger Carl Stephens to me.  It took me a season or two before I finally realized it was someone else.

[AUChizad]

FWIW, this link has an audio clip embedded.

http://www.thewareaglereader.com/2012/08/forever-right-auburn-icon-carl-stephen-passes-away-at-77/

Also .

And this:

[Kaos]

The "new" guy sounds like a younger Carl Stephens to me.  It took me a season or two before I finally realized it was someone else.

Well fuck me blind.  I thought he was still doing it. 

My sadness has lifted. 

[Godfather]

Sure, but... the end was very... very sudden.

He was in intensive care for eight weeks

[AUChizad]

Well fuck me blind.  I thought he was still doing it. 

My sadness has lifted.

It's a very distinct voice, and they apparently found its clone to replace him with.

I haven't spent a ton of time in other stadiums, but I don't recall hearing a similar voice in any other venue.

To me, the embodiment of "being there" at a live Auburn game = that voice (those voices?), a Bourbon & Sprite, and the Auburn band playing "The Horse".

[AUJarhead]

http://fromthebleachersblog.blogspot.com/2012/08/carl-stephens-rip.html

Thursday, August 02, 2012
Carl Stephens, RIP
Carl Stephens passed away last night.

Carl had been my friend since I was a little boy.  My parents' seats in Jordan-Hare Stadium were near the edge of the press box where Carl, the public address announcer for nearly 30 years, had his post.  In the days before the internet (and for that matter, before ESPN), I would run him score updates from my dad's portable radio.

If you've never been about eight years old and had 72,000 people cheer wildly over a couple of names and numbers you just passed on to a PA man, you really missed out on something.

As Phillip Marshall wrote yesterday, Carl was one of the kindest people you could ever hope to meet.  He was always happy to chat in between calling out the game in that magisterial voice.  For most of my life, stopping in to speak with him before or after or during a game was one of the highlights of any trip to Auburn.  He never failed to ask what I'd been up to, or to tell me about how his own children were making their way through grade school and college and life.

It got harder to check in with Carl after I moved over to the student section, and then out to Texas for graduate school, but we still managed to stay in touch.  Email eventually made that much easier; Carl kept up with my work on- and off-line, and went out of his way to encourage me as a writer.  When I stopped in to WSFA (where Carl was the station manager for a large portion of its history) to promote "The Uncivil War" in the mid-90's, he showed me around the stadium like a proud parent.

Everyone has a favorite Carl Stephens moment.  For many people of a certain age, it's the famous 1983 announcement at Legion Field, in the third quarter of the Auburn-Alabama game, that a tornado had touched down in Jefferson County (as Pat Dye later wrote in his autobiography, "I don't think three people left").  I remember a basketball game against Alabama when I was a student.  After the presentation of the Governor's Trophy for Auburn's 1987 shutout win, Carl noted for the benefit of the crowd, "To remind everyone, the score of that game was... Auburn, 10."

And of course, there was the ridiculous scene after the 1997 Alabama game when a group of players handed the goalposts up to a crowd of students in the end zone.  I was standing next to Carl, watching those kids carry it up to the top of the bowl, and if I live to be a hundred, I'll never forget the look on his face when he picked up the microphone and sternly advised them to not throw it over the side.

After retiring from WSFA and his announcer duties, Carl joined the rest of us in the stands for a few years.  He sat with his old friend David Housel, by then both fans emeritus (what we all would have given to be able to listen in on those in-game conversations).  But eventually, poor health stopped him from attending games altogether.  I don't think I'll ever get over Carl not being able to be there in person two seasons ago.  How he must have loved seeing it anyway, from afar.

There's more to say, and I wish I could say it, but I am overdrawn at the grief bank these days.

Right now, I just miss my friend.

That 97 Iron Bowl is maybe my favorite Carl Stephens moment.  "Your attention please.  Your attention please.  To the students in the end zone...  please do not throw that....  thing....  over the sides of the stadium."  I've got a scoreboard print from that game with the goal post in it.

[War Eagle!!!]

Well fuck me blind.  I thought he was still doing it. 

My sadness has lifted.

I remember I was really disappointed in 2005 when I heard he had retired. When I went to a game that year, I was like all "Bullshit, that is the same dude."

He sounds a lot like him.

[Townhallsavoy]

Well fuck me blind.  I thought he was still doing it. 

My sadness has lifted.

Yeah I've been confused in this thread as well. 

I taught the daughter of the current announcer back when I did my student teaching in 2007.  I thought for sure a 77 year old wouldn't have a 15 (now 20) year old daughter. 

[Godfather]

Yeah I've been confused in this thread as well. 

I taught the daughter of the current announcer back when I did my student teaching in 2007.  I thought for sure a 77 year old wouldn't have a 15 (now 20) year old daughter. 

Why do you hate Michael Douglas?

[wesfau2]

Why do you hate Michael Douglas?

Greed is good.

[GH2001]

That's incredibly depressing. 

Games will never be the same.  Maybe they recorded all that and can just do a soundboard.  Over the years he's bound to have called every possible situation.

Agree. Was thinking the same thing. He is one of the nostalgic things I remember from childhood that I love and it saddens me he has left us. Will be the same when Dye's day comes to. Was same with Andy Griffith. Sad.

[Godfather]

Will be the same when Dye's day comes to.

You shut your dirty whorish mouth.