Jock Sutherland

Catching up with Jock Sutherland, now in his 91st year. Still as funny as he ever was, recently recalling his days as a color commentator for University of Louisville basketball.

Jock never pretended to be a broadcaster, and today admits he would never have made it as a play-by-play man.

Jock and Van Vance were in Knoxville for the Dream Game in 1983 as the broadcast team for WHAS radio. There was static on the air and Vance ducked down under the table to work on the equipment, telling Jock to take it. “I told him I was not a play-by-play guy, but there was no other option,” said Jock. “I was awful. He told me I would never have to do that again.” 

Never a dull moment for Sutherland, the long-since retired sidekick of Vance on WHAS radio.  Together they were an unforgettable broadcast team for UofL basketball for more than 20 years.

Jock has had a busy year, getting with Van for their annual get-together and adding an electric chairlift so he can navigate the steps at his two-story house in Nicholasville.

Unfortunately his driving days are over, as a result of another motorist slamming into the side of his Chevy S-10 pickup truck. Fortunately Jock was not hurt but the pickup was beyond repair. Through with driving, he now relies on his wife Phyllis for transportation.

Phyllis is still working part-time four hours a day for the local board of education, reducing her hours so she can spend more time with Jock. “We’re there for each other,” she says. “He’s still a lot of fun to be with.”

Jock was recently interviewed again by film producers Renee Collins and Warren Cobb for Room 17 Productions about his experiences with Vance for the University of Kentucky Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History:

Jock Sutherland: The WHAS Broadcasting Years from Renee Collins on Vimeo.

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By Charlie Springer

Charlie Springer is a former Louisville editor and sportswriter, a public affairs consultant, a UofL grad and longtime fan.