Van Vance is a well-known name in the Kentucky sports world, recognized for his work as a sportscaster with WHAS TV and radio in Louisville. He is most notably known as the voice of play-by-play for the Kentucky Colonels in the late sixties and early seventies, as well as for the University of Louisville’s football and men’s basketball teams. A native of Kentucky, Vance grew up in Park City in Barren County. He was an athlete himself, excelling in basketball, baseball, softball, and even six-man football. Vance recalls basketball as his best sport, having averaged 22 points per game in high school, with a personal high of 39 points in a game. Coming out of high school, he received basketball scholarship offers from Kentucky Wesleyan, Lindsey Wilson, and Tennessee Tech, but ultimately chose to attend Western Kentucky to play. However, after one season, he found that it conflicted too much with his radio job—his true passion—so he decided to focus on that instead.
Throughout his long career in sports, Vance highlights three distinct memories as the most significant. In 1975, the Kentucky Colonels beat the Indiana Pacers in the championship, featuring four players who would eventually be inducted into the National Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts. Another memorable moment was when he served as the play-by-play announcer for the Louisville Cardinals basketball team during their 1986 NCAA championship win. Additionally, he fondly recalls broadcasting the “Dream Game” in Knoxville, Tennessee, where he sat across from Ralph Hacker and Kay Wood—two announcers he had admired growing up—and had the chance to meet and talk with them, all while experiencing a Cardinals victory.
Vance's legendary career in sports allowed him to experience some truly memorable moments in Kentucky sports history.
Comentarios