By Frank Murtaugh
The games were played, the records broken.
He described it all, even squeezed a joke in.
Name the face of Memphis sports if you can, no cheatin’.
Why, great Scott, it’s none other than Big Jack Eaton!
Clearly, local sports poetry should be left to the Bard of Union
Avenue. (Had to make an attempt, Jack.) The one and only Jack Eaton
— the “Voice of the Tigers” for 28 years and longtime
sportscaster at WMC-TV — will be signing copies of his first
book, Jack Eaton: Great Scott, I Rhyme a Lot, this weekend at
the Tiger Gift Shop on Highland. And while there is plenty of
Tiger-related verse to inspire and reflect upon, Eaton also weaves his
wordplay around the likes of the NBA’s Grizzlies, pro football, and
(curse the blue-clad gods!) the University of Tennessee. In an age when
too many take their sports way too seriously, Eaton reminds us to reach
a little deeper, to a lighter, more sentimental side, in cheering our
favorite teams.
Jack Eaton Booksignings, Friday, November 21st, from 3 to 6 p.m. and
Saturday, November 22nd, from noon to 3 p.m. at the Tiger Gift Shop,
549 S. Highland.