Texas high school football broadcaster closes in on a milestone
By Keith Russell
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FORT WORTH, Texas (KTVT) — A North Texas radio sports announcer is closing in on a milestone.
Gentry Little has been calling high school games for 40 years.
“I love Friday nights. I love high school football,” Little tells us ahead of a recent Crowley High School game in Fort Worth. “I’ve been doing it forever so I’m addicted.”
Despite decades in the broadcast booth, Little remembers that first game well.
“First game was September 1st, 1982 when they had cassette tapes, that’s how old that I am.” Little said. “Commerce beat North Lamar 27-14 and hasn’t stopped since”
From cassette tapes then to internet broadcasts today, Little dons the headset to describe the games to listeners – a passion you can her through the microphone.
“It’s watching how hard these kids work and seeing the results on game day.” Little said. “Whether it’s basketball, softball, baseball or football, and the success they have if they make it to the playoffs.”
His work has been recognized outside the press box with proclamations from both Governor Greg Abbott and former Governor Rick Perry.
And he’s got the rings to go along with all those games called when he was the radio announcer for the Brock Lady Eagles basketball team and their amazing run of five state titles in a row.
“These are two of the five rings,” Little shows us. “This was the last one. This was probably the fun one. This was when we went 32-8 and won that one. But, I have all five of them. ”
And with that hardware, what keeps him coming back to the press box game after game?
“You never know what’s going to happen,” he said. “Some kid may break a record. A school record. A state record. You want to be a part of it and you want to bring that to your audience and make them feel a part of it.”
Little is closing in on another milestone besides 40 years in broadcasting. He’s 12 games away from calling 1,600 sporting events … which should happen sometime during the upcoming high school basketball season.
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