SLS 15RS-1277 ORIGINAL
2015 Regular Session
SENATE CONCURRENT RESOL UTION NO. 116
BY SENATOR ALARIO AND REPRESENTATIVES KLECKLEY AND LEGER
COMMENDATIONS. Commends Jim Hawthorne on his retirement and on 35 years as the
legendary "Voice of the Tigers" at LSU football, baseball, and mens basketball athletic
competitions.
1 A CONCURRENT RESOL UTION
2 To commend and congratulate Jim Hawthorne on his retirement and on thirty-five years as
3 the legendary "Voice of the Tigers" at Louisiana State University football, baseball,
4 and mens basketball athletic competitions.
5 WHEREAS, Jim Hawthorne has been on the radio calling thousands of athletic
6 events for the Louisiana State University Fighting Tigers for the past thirty-five years; and
7 WHEREAS, he announced his retirement from that position following the 2015-2016
8 basketball season; and
9 WHEREAS, Jim Hawthorne is a native of Anacoco, Louisiana, and a 1967 graduate
10 of Northwestern State University in Natchitoches; and
11 WHEREAS, his first play-by-play job was in 1961 at Leesville High School where
12 he called for the Wampus Cats football team; and
13 WHEREAS, he first joined Louisiana State University (LSU) as a play-by-play
14 announcer for mens basketball in 1980, began calling football and baseball in 1984, and has
15 continued to call those three sports since that time; and
16 WHEREAS, as the "Voice of the Tigers", Jim has been on the broadcast for all six
17 of LSU's national championships in baseball, two national titles in football, and three Final
18 Four appearances for the mens basketball team; and
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SLS 15RS-1277 ORIGINAL
1 WHEREAS, in the course of his career with LSU, he has called three hundred eighty
2 football games, which include the 2003, 2007, and 2011 Bowl Championship Series games
3 and the Southeastern Conference championship games played in 2001, 2003, 2005, 2007,
4 and 2011; and
5 WHEREAS, Jim has been the caller of three Final Four basketball competitions for
6 the Tigers in 1981, 1986, and 2011, and called games involving LSU standouts, and future
7 professional basketball players, Shaquille O'Neal, Chris Jackson, Glen Davis, Stromile
8 Swift, Brandon Brass, Rudy Macklin, and many others; and
9 WHEREAS, as the play-by-play announcer for the Tigers baseball team, he called
10 all fifty-seven games in the College World Series, including the Tigers' six national title
11 games in Omaha; and
12 WHEREAS, he was behind the microphone for the "Earthquake Game" in 1988, the
13 "Bluegrass Miracle" in 2002, and the "Game of the Century" in 2011 when the top-ranked
14 Tigers kicked a field goal in overtime to beat the University of Alabama Crimson Tide by
15 a score of 9-6 in Tuscaloosa; and
16 WHEREAS, in addition to his role at LSU, Jim has held caller jobs at Northwestern
17 State University and Centenary College, as well as Texas League baseball and the World
18 Football League broadcasts; and
19 WHEREAS, the vice chancellor and director of athletics at LSU, Joe Alleva, said of
20 Jim Hawthorne, "When you hear Jim's voice, you immediately think LSU. That's the mark
21 of a great play-by-play man. His passion and enthusiasm for LSU translates into his
22 broadcast and he has the innate ability to paint a picture about what's happening on each play
23 that makes the listener feel as if they are part of the action."; and
24 WHEREAS, Jim was named the recipient of the 2015 Chris Schenkel Award, which
25 is the most prestigious and highest honor in college sports broadcasting and is presented by
26 the National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame to a sports broadcaster who has
27 had a long and distinguished career broadcasting college football; and
28 WHEREAS, in addition to his announcing skills, he is also an accomplished singer
29 who was master of ceremonies and a singer on the "Louisiana Hayride" country and western
30 music show on KWKH in Shreveport, and who occasionally performs at local venues; and
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SLS 15RS-1277 ORIGINAL
1 WHEREAS, Jim performed the national anthem in front of a packed Alex Box
2 Stadium on Saturday, May 9, 2015, and received a rousing ovation from the crowd; and
3 WHEREAS, upon his retirement from LSU, Jim plans to spend more time with his
4 son, Joseph William; his daughters, Jaime Lynn and Amanda Ruth, his two grandsons, two
5 granddaughters, and great-granddaughter, and he is looking forward to traveling with his
6 wife and best friend, Carol; and
7 WHEREAS, Jim Hawthorne merits a special measure of commendation for his
8 outstanding accomplishments and his enduring legacy that will long continue to be a source
9 of tremendous pride for the innumerable players, coworkers, and fans whose lives he
10 touched during his unforgettable career at Louisiana State University.
11 THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of Louisiana does hereby
12 commend Jim Hawthorne upon his retirement from Louisiana State University and for
13 thirty-five years as the "Voice of the Tigers", does hereby express to him sincere
14 appreciation for the honor he has brought to the state of Louisiana, and does hereby extend
15 to him best wishes for continued success in all of his future endeavors.
16 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to
17 Jim Hawthorne.
The original instrument and the following digest, which constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument, were prepared by Nancy Vicknair.
DIGEST
SCR 116 Original 2015 Regular Session Alario
Commends Jim Hawthorne on his retirement and on 35 years as the legendary "Voice of the
Tigers" at LSU football, baseball, and mens basketball athletic competitions.
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