John Ferguson, 86; Voice of LSU Sports for More Than 40 Years

John Ferguson, 86, who broadcast Louisiana State University sports for more than 40 years, died Saturday in Zachary, La., of complications from a fall, his brother Milton said Sunday.

Ferguson began broadcasting LSU athletics in 1946 and retired in 1987. He also did play-by-play for the New Orleans Saints for a time and other sports events.

Ferguson was the voice of LSU football on Saturday nights, when the broadcast could be heard in many parts of the country on WWL-AM. For many years, there weren’t many night games around the country, so Ferguson had the airwaves virtually to himself, and college football fans became familiar with his distinctive baritone voice.

“That was when radio was the medium that people really depended on,” said former LSU Athletic Director Joe Dean. “I can remember traveling to a lot of different places and on Saturday night I always turned my radio to 870 to listen to the Tigers.”

Ferguson was a pilot in the Army Air Forces in the latter stages of World War II. He completed 144 missions piloting cargo planes over the Himalayas between India and China. His job was to supply B-29s for their bombing runs.