Paul James (sportscaster)
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Paul Morris James
Early life
James was born on July 17, 1931, in
Broadcasting career
James got his start as a broadcaster, filling in on weekend sportscasts with
He eventually started working for KDYL (AM) as well and he did play-by-play on University of Utah football and basketball games.[4] When KDYL lost the rights to broadcast the Utes' games in 1965 to KALL, James took an offer from KSL to call BYU games instead. At the same time, he took over as sports director at KSL-TV, a post he held until 1991. For his entire tenure at KSL-TV, he was teamed with anchorman Dick Nourse and weatherman Bob Welti. The trio were the longest-running evening news team in the nation at the time James left channel 5 to focus solely on Cougar football and basketball.
James suffered a heart episode at Utah's Rice-Eccles Stadium just prior to the BYU-Utah football game at end the 1996 season. He completed broadcasting the game after signing a release for the paramedics. After the game he drove himself to the hospital, where he was admitted and had a 6 bypass heart surgery performed . He only missed one game—the first ever
James ultimately chose to retire from being "the voice of the Cougars" after longtime BYU coach LaVell Edwards announced his retirement just before the 2000 college football season. Greg Wrubell, who had been sideline reporter for football games since 1992 and the main basketball announcer since 1996, succeeded him as radio play-by-play announcer.[4]
In 2005, James was inducted in the BYU sports hall of fame.[5]
He died on October 6, 2018, at the age of 87.[3]
Cougar Tales
James wrote a book Cougar Tales, published in 1984, which chronicled his experiences calling play-by-play for BYU football and basketball up to that point.[6]
References
- ^ "Paul Morris James". Memorial Mortuaries and Cemeteries. October 6, 2018. Archived from the original on October 22, 2018. Retrieved October 21, 2018.
- ^ Paul James' last call
- ^ a b Harmon, Dick (October 8, 2018). "Voice of the Cougars Paul James, 87, dies at his home after long illness". Deseret News. Retrieved October 9, 2018.
- ^ a b Greg Wrubell: Paul James could not remain behind when LaVell Edwards retired
- ^ BYU Hall of Fame
- ^ Paul James will autograph books
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