John Ferguson: Steve Franz, LSU Sports Information.
John Ferguson
John Ferguson, former “Voice” of the LSU Tigers, was the broadcaster for LSU sports for over forty years. Ferguson began broadcasting LSU athletics in 1946 and retired in 1987. He was the voice of LSU football on Saturday nights when the broadcast could be heard in many parts of the country on 50,000-watt station WWL-AM. There weren't many night games around the country at the time, giving Ferguson a virtually solo presence on the radio airwaves. College football fans across the country became familiar with his distinctive baritone voice. In the late 1960s, Ferguson teamed up with Joe Dean on weekly broadcasts of the SEC game of the week during the basketball season. Ferguson was also the play-by-play announcer for the New Orleans Saints.
Later, he served as the head of development for the Athletic Department before the formation of the Tiger Athletic Foundation. Prior to his work in radio, Ferguson served as an Army Air pilot in World War II, completing 144 missions piloting cargo planes over the Himalayas between India and China, supplying B-29s for their bombing runs. Ferguson passed away at the age of 86 in 2005.
John Ferguson’s interviews are housed in the T. Harry Williams Center for Oral History at LSU Libraries Special Collections. Ferguson, John, interview by Melisse Campbell, audio recording, 1994, 4700.0480. Louisiana and Lower Mississippi Valley Collections, LSU Libraries, Baton Rouge, Louisiana. ∙ Ferguson, John, interview by Scott Purdy, audio recording, 1993, 4700.0312. Louisiana and Lower Mississippi Valley Collections, LSU Libraries, Baton Rouge, Louisiana.