September 26, 2017
Don Essig, MEd ’64, PhD ’71, has almost seen it all during his half century of calling games from the Autzen Stadium press box.
There was the time Air Force passed for -1 yards, and the time No. 4 BYU—helmed by Heisman Trophy winner Ty Detmer—ran for -47 yards. In 2006, two controversial UO touchdowns in the final three minutes of a win over Oklahoma led to an entire officiating crew being suspended for a game. Then, as any Duck can tell you, there’s that pick by Kenny Wheaton.
There was an undefeated regular season in 2010, as well as 18 losing campaigns—his first and his most recent complete seasons each saw the Ducks win only four times. Eight coaches have patrolled the home team’s sideline during his tenure, a span that has seen the Pacific-8 conference turn into the Pac-10 and, now, the Pac-12.
There have been highs and there have been lows, and through it all there has always been Don Essig, announcing the games from the comfort of the announcer’s booth on the south side of Autzen Stadium.
Except, you know, for his first 20 years, when the press box was on the north side of the field.
“It wasn’t crude, but it was not like it is now,” Essig said of his early days at Autzen, back when the stadium held just 27,000 fans. “I probably had a half a dozen five-by-eight cards with a little bit of information. I did my introduction, and then somebody would bring us a score sheet. We'd announce scores, but that was it and you did the game and went home.”
Essig, an educator like his wife Janet, 'MEd 75, started announcing games at Oregon City High School while a sixth-grade teacher there. He moved to Eugene to get his master’s in education from the UO, and while in town began announcing for Sheldon High School. He taught at Spring Creek Elementary during the week, and announced Fighting Irish games on Friday nights—right up until UO announcer Virgil Parker took a sports editor position with a newspaper in Lincoln, Nebraska, the year after Autzen Stadium opened.
“The Duck job opened, and (Sheldon and future UO head baseball coach) Mel Krause called me and said, ‘Get over and see the athletic director. I got you an appointment,’” said Essig.
Essig has been announcing games at Autzen Stadium ever since, and has been there throughout the UO’s rise from college football afterthought to national powerhouse program. While September 2’s 77-21 win over Southern Utah marked the first game of the Willie Taggart era—as well as the most points scored in Autzen history—it also marked a personal milestone for Essig.
It was the first game of his 50th season with the UO.
“If you'd go back and say, ‘Hey Don, this is going to be your number one hobby in life,’ I'd say, ‘Maybe—being connected to sports would be fun,'" Essig said.
A game day for Essig starts several hours before kickoff when he arrives at the stadium and meets spotters Stan Hultgren—who has been with him for 43 years—and Jack Pynes—who has been there for all 50. The trio have a folder of information—rosters, depth charts, announcements, and the like—as well as their own shorthand, honed over years of working together, which means that they can relay information about tacklers and yardage to Essig in a hurry so that PA announcements can be made faster.
That shorthand was key in 2009 when Mike Bellotti handed the head coaching reigns to Chip Kelly, and the Ducks began playing at their now customary warp speed.
“I always had this philosophy that when the team’s on the field you try to get everything announced before they go back to the huddle,” said Essig. “If you're on the field at Autzen, it’s really loud down there. When Chip came in, all of a sudden instead of 25 seconds to make announcements, you’ve got 12. So you don't have a lot of time. But Jack and Stan know their stuff and we just kind of run it all together. A lot of times I'm announcing before I really get the info from them, so I'm announcing and watching them and we've done it so many times that it's routine.”
While that helps the fans in the stands, moving so quickly means Essig has little time to process what he’s seeing on the field, so by the end of a game he often can’t remember key moments.
“I’d go to a social function after a game and someone would say, ‘That was a great play [Royce] Freeman had,’ Essig said. “And I’ll say, ‘I’ve got to stop and see if I remember. I remember calling it.’”
Essig’s solution? He records every game, and goes home after the clock hits zero and rewatches the Ducks while enjoying his favorite beverage. “I’ve got to rewatch the game so I can see the game!” he said.
In 2016, Essig received the Bill Schonely Lifetime Achievement Award from the State of Oregon Sports Hall of Fame and Museum, being inducted just one year after Bellotti was added. The former principal at Howard Elementary and North Eugene High School retired from the Eugene School District in 1990, and now spends his weekdays golfing, consulting, conducting leadership workshops, and recording The Motivational Minute for KPNW in Eugene.
But while Essig’s career has changed along with the pace at which the Ducks put points on the scoreboard—the 77 scored against Southern Utah is 65 more than they scored in the first game he called, a 28-12 loss to Stanford on September 28, 1968—one thing hasn’t: Don’s place in the Autzen Stadium announcer’s booth, which he doesn’t plan on leaving any time soon.
“It’s too fun,” he said.
There was the time Air Force passed for -1 yards, and the time No. 4 BYU—helmed by Heisman Trophy winner Ty Detmer—ran for -47 yards. In 2006, two controversial UO touchdowns in the final three minutes of a win over Oklahoma led to an entire officiating crew being suspended for a game. Then, as any Duck can tell you, there’s that pick by Kenny Wheaton.
There was an undefeated regular season in 2010, as well as 18 losing campaigns—his first and his most recent complete seasons each saw the Ducks win only four times. Eight coaches have patrolled the home team’s sideline during his tenure, a span that has seen the Pacific-8 conference turn into the Pac-10 and, now, the Pac-12.
There have been highs and there have been lows, and through it all there has always been Don Essig, announcing the games from the comfort of the announcer’s booth on the south side of Autzen Stadium.
Except, you know, for his first 20 years, when the press box was on the north side of the field.
“It wasn’t crude, but it was not like it is now,” Essig said of his early days at Autzen, back when the stadium held just 27,000 fans. “I probably had a half a dozen five-by-eight cards with a little bit of information. I did my introduction, and then somebody would bring us a score sheet. We'd announce scores, but that was it and you did the game and went home.”
Essig, an educator like his wife Janet, 'MEd 75, started announcing games at Oregon City High School while a sixth-grade teacher there. He moved to Eugene to get his master’s in education from the UO, and while in town began announcing for Sheldon High School. He taught at Spring Creek Elementary during the week, and announced Fighting Irish games on Friday nights—right up until UO announcer Virgil Parker took a sports editor position with a newspaper in Lincoln, Nebraska, the year after Autzen Stadium opened.
“The Duck job opened, and (Sheldon and future UO head baseball coach) Mel Krause called me and said, ‘Get over and see the athletic director. I got you an appointment,’” said Essig.
Essig has been announcing games at Autzen Stadium ever since, and has been there throughout the UO’s rise from college football afterthought to national powerhouse program. While September 2’s 77-21 win over Southern Utah marked the first game of the Willie Taggart era—as well as the most points scored in Autzen history—it also marked a personal milestone for Essig.
It was the first game of his 50th season with the UO.
“If you'd go back and say, ‘Hey Don, this is going to be your number one hobby in life,’ I'd say, ‘Maybe—being connected to sports would be fun,'" Essig said.
A game day for Essig starts several hours before kickoff when he arrives at the stadium and meets spotters Stan Hultgren—who has been with him for 43 years—and Jack Pynes—who has been there for all 50. The trio have a folder of information—rosters, depth charts, announcements, and the like—as well as their own shorthand, honed over years of working together, which means that they can relay information about tacklers and yardage to Essig in a hurry so that PA announcements can be made faster.
That shorthand was key in 2009 when Mike Bellotti handed the head coaching reigns to Chip Kelly, and the Ducks began playing at their now customary warp speed.
“I always had this philosophy that when the team’s on the field you try to get everything announced before they go back to the huddle,” said Essig. “If you're on the field at Autzen, it’s really loud down there. When Chip came in, all of a sudden instead of 25 seconds to make announcements, you’ve got 12. So you don't have a lot of time. But Jack and Stan know their stuff and we just kind of run it all together. A lot of times I'm announcing before I really get the info from them, so I'm announcing and watching them and we've done it so many times that it's routine.”
While that helps the fans in the stands, moving so quickly means Essig has little time to process what he’s seeing on the field, so by the end of a game he often can’t remember key moments.
“I’d go to a social function after a game and someone would say, ‘That was a great play [Royce] Freeman had,’ Essig said. “And I’ll say, ‘I’ve got to stop and see if I remember. I remember calling it.’”
Essig’s solution? He records every game, and goes home after the clock hits zero and rewatches the Ducks while enjoying his favorite beverage. “I’ve got to rewatch the game so I can see the game!” he said.
In 2016, Essig received the Bill Schonely Lifetime Achievement Award from the State of Oregon Sports Hall of Fame and Museum, being inducted just one year after Bellotti was added. The former principal at Howard Elementary and North Eugene High School retired from the Eugene School District in 1990, and now spends his weekdays golfing, consulting, conducting leadership workshops, and recording The Motivational Minute for KPNW in Eugene.
But while Essig’s career has changed along with the pace at which the Ducks put points on the scoreboard—the 77 scored against Southern Utah is 65 more than they scored in the first game he called, a 28-12 loss to Stanford on September 28, 1968—one thing hasn’t: Don’s place in the Autzen Stadium announcer’s booth, which he doesn’t plan on leaving any time soon.
“It’s too fun,” he said.