Thank You, Jim
December 18, 2024 | Baseball, Joel Coleman
Senior Writer Joel Coleman honors the retiring voice of Bulldog baseball, Jim Ellis.
STARKVILLE – The word family gets thrown around a lot at Mississippi State, for good reason. Us Bulldogs are indeed a tight-knit bunch. We're all connected by care and cowbells, memories and Maroon, and a love for all things MSU.
Our people unite us, too, and through the years, perhaps no one has threaded us all together as much as the longtime voice of Mississippi State baseball, Jim Ellis. So, upon Ellis officially announcing his retirement Wednesday following 46 wonderful seasons behind the microphone, it seems simultaneously appropriate, yet insufficient, to offer up these two words to Ellis on behalf of Bulldogs everywhere: THANK YOU!
Truth is, you've meant more to us than words could ever fully express.
Given the length of the baseball schedule and the longevity of Ellis' tenure, there's a chance many of us have listened to Jim Ellis talk more than our own blood relatives. He's been the soundtrack of State springs for close to half a century.
He of course called MSU football and basketball as well in his career, but there's no denying Ellis is most associated with the Diamond Dawgs. And while things were different over the years – different players, different coaches, even different Dudy Noble Fields – Ellis was the constant through it all, like a brilliant artist beautifully painting the ever-changing picture for each of us.
It was so fitting. In a sport that treasures consistency, Ellis was Mr. Consistent. He was right there on our radio dials game after game, year after year and decade after decade. We counted on him. We trusted him. We celebrated with him. We enjoyed him.
If you're a Bulldog and you were in your car between the months of February and June, there's a good chance Ellis was figuratively riding shotgun with you. He took The Dude to plenty of back porches. He turned riding lawnmowers into stadium seats of sorts.
Ellis has just been a gigantic piece of our lives. Even as college baseball coverage evolved to the point where now, about every game can be watched via television or streaming, nothing and no one sounds like Mississippi State baseball more than Ellis. Never one to make himself the story, Ellis will likely reject this label, but he's an undisputed Mississippi State legend.
I'll never forget my first encounter with Jim. It was nearly 20 years ago, and I was just getting my start working in collegiate athletics here at Mississippi State as a student assistant in the marketing department. At the time, MSU athletic marketing was headquartered in Humphrey Coliseum and Ellis' office was just around the corner from where I was stationed.
It's been said before that you might not want to meet your heroes because they could disappoint you. Nothing could've been further from the truth when it came to meeting Jim. From our first chat to every one since, he couldn't have been more gracious, more professional or more classy. It's almost been like we've known each other forever.
Which, to a degree, I guess we have. We all have. We're all family, right?
A bittersweet moment will certainly arrive this spring when a different Bulldog baseball voice comes over the airwaves and opens up an exciting new chapter. It won't necessarily be as much of an adjustment to hear someone else as it will be to NOT hear Ellis.
But rest assured Ellis will still be around. There'll be about 10 to 15 thousand folks at Dudy Noble every weekend that'll be proud to save a seat for the man who, for many, helped them fall in love with Bulldog baseball to begin with.
So, find a spot, sit back, relax and enjoy every minute of it, Jim. You've earned it. You deserve it.
Because to reframe perhaps your most memorable call, when it comes to your career, it was without a doubt a grand slam for Ellis! And we were all so very, very fortunate to have had the chance to trot the bases alongside you.
