The 1988 Midway Green Wave football team spent as much time that year ranked #1 in the state as not. Several “All-State” players were produced, and it was a very exciting team to watch, and I bragged on them to just about anyone that would listen. I was attending the University of Tennessee at the time, and soon had guys following me to games that had absolutely no ties to Midway – one was from Great Britain who described it to his friends as “big time” American High School football.
The team had generated enough interest across East Tennessee in ‘88 that I didn’t have to twist Knoxville businessman Sam Furrow’s arm to get him to Midway for the 1989 game with Webb who was suddenly a district rival thanks to re-alignment. Sam, along with wife Ann, came to check us out … and we probably had our worst game in 3 years. When I saw him later that week, and sheepishly inquired about the game, he replied that “Webb just had your number that night … but I’ve never heard a public address announcer like you have at Midway,” and Sam paused before continuing, “in fact, I wouldn’t call him a ‘public address announcer.’ He’s a play-by-play sportscaster …”
I agree that Ed Rose was not a normal public address announcer. Back then, and even today, public address announcers would simply state the obvious. I’m not talking about an announcer from radio where description is obviously a necessity. I’m talking about an “on-site” public address announcer that calls the game “live” over a Public Address (P.A.) System. Ed Rose was the “Voice of the Midway Green Wave,” and applied a standard normally, at that time, reserved for the best “radio-men” in the business. When asked about his success, Ed responded with:
“In the early days, I give a lot of credit to Bill Waldroup. We only had 2 speakers, and he worked on them every single week during the football season.”
Most public address announcers will let a play develop and complete itself, and then call out “2nd down and 5” or “tackle made by #56.” However, Ed would tell you about the play in great detail as it was happening. He would tell you how a team got to be 2nd and 5, give you an outlook or observation, and then set the scene that was coming up. On the other side of the ball, he might well break the defense down to a particular formation, describe pursuit through the point of contact, and then as he did on offense, set up the up-coming scenario. Ed was not a public address announcer – he was a sportscaster without a radio or television signal, and he painted a picture with his words on each and every play of the game.
But as if that wasn’t enough to deal with, Ed spent a few years helping Coach Stan Branson by flipping the switch on the P.A. system, and communicating directly with the coach on the sidelines to provide insight into what he was seeing on the field that the Green Wave offense might be able to take advantage of – he did this between plays, and Ed didn’t have a spotter to help him keep track of the work flow. But as organized as Ed was, he still had his “bloopers” and describes the following incident:
“I once forgot and left the P.A. System turned on as I was talking to Coach Branson – it didn’t take long for the ref to tell Branson to ‘tell him to stop doing that.’”
I’ve been a fan of play-by-play announcers for a long time, and can clearly recall trying to dial in WNOX 99AM to hear John Ward tell me all about Tennessee basketball back in the 70s, and at best getting 2 of 3 words as the signal wavered on its way to my home in Paint Rock, Tennessee. But, in only a few years, and thanks to satellite technology I was able to listen to legends like Johnny Most of the Celtics and Chick Hearn of the Lakers. If names like Scully, Carey, Harwell, Jackson, Buck, and Nelson mean anything to you then you were probably fans of play-by-play announcers as well. Ed credits a surprising source for some of his sportscasting education and inspiration;
“Larry Munson of the University of Georgia. I was listening to a game one time … Georgia scored on a long run, and Munson’s call was, HE TOOK IT ALL THE WAY TO THE LAND OF MILK AND HONEY!’ After hearing that, I wanted to add something to every play.”
Ed was our “John Ward, Larry Munson, and Lindsey Nelson.” His voice was booming, explosive but controlled, and articulate. He loved the game, and had a vast knowledge of tactics and strategies that had been developed over years of playing, coaching and observing. His gift was that he was able to portray what was going on to the “layman” watching the game from the bleacher seats.
Ed was the sportscaster / public address announcer at Midway High School for 27 years, and served as “spotter” for a couple years prior to that. And of course, he played a little football and basketball as well. The number of games that he has missed in the entire history of Midway football can be counted on one hand. He played on the very first Midway football team in 1954, and remembers;
“The first practice was held on July 15th and the temperature was well over 100 degrees. We walked into the gym, and a man none of us had ever seen before told us that ‘if we wanted to play football to get our uniforms on and follow him to the football field.’ The uniforms had already been put out on the bleachers although none of us knew how to put a uniform on. When we made it to the field, the coach made us run 10 laps to start practice.”
After watching football at Midway since 1954, he thinks that first team was the worst in history. They were a bunch of boys that had never seen a game (on television or live) thrown together to try to form a team, and it was not a glorious start. Asked what he remembers most about his days as a player, he responds with the “one that got away” just like all the great ones do;
“We were playing Friendsville. Our quarterback was Ross Hickey, and I was playing Tight End. I got well behind the safety, and thought ‘I have never been so wide-open.’ Ross saw me and threw the ball right down the middle of the field … and I watched as it flew 20 feet over my head and landed 20 yards downfield… I was mad as the devil. We only scored 2 or 3 touchdowns the whole year.”
Ed said that he expressed his dissatisfaction with the Quarterback upon returning to the huddle. He didn’t respond when asked for specifics.
After volunteering that his team might well have been the worst team, I inquired about what might be “the best team in Midway football history?”
“There are 3 teams that come to mind. The first is the 1959 team with Johnny Narramore and Paul Colyer. The second is the 1978 team led by San Narramore, and the third was the 1988 team led by Lance Wheaton.”
When asked about the best Green Wave football player he has ever seen, his reply wasn’t as obvious as many fans might think;
“Gary Johnson on the 1959 team. He could and would run around you or over you. In one game he only got the ball 7 times … but he scored on 6 of them …”
While Ed is known for playing on the very first Midway football team, and being the “Voice of the Green Wave” for all those years, he also played some basketball. Ed averaged 22 points per game for Midway High School back in 1954-55. Even though there were many great experiences with football and basketball, Ed’s favorite among the “big 3” sports is baseball. His oldest son, Randy, once told me that Ed would sit in his truck night after night listening to Ernie Harwell make the call on Detroit Tiger’s games (before cable and satellite technology of course). He also traveled to Kingston to coach Little League Baseball for 15 years and contended for State Championships on several occasions. Although his love for baseball is great, he tells of his favorite sporting events to watch:
“I like to watch Tennessee football. Tennessee and anybody they’re playing is my favorite thing to watch. After that, I would rather watch any 2 teams play baseball than any other college football or NFL game. I also like to watch a Tennessee basketball game.”
Ed noted a couple of events that he had witnessed at Tennessee football games that were memorable:
“ Stopping LSU great Billy Cannon on the goal line to win the game is the first thing that comes to mind. The second is the first night game at Neyland Stadium; the game with Penn State.”
Ed and Sybil Rose’s kids are also one of the most productive groups of siblings in Midway History: Cindy, Randy, Sandra and Michael are all intensely competitive and each made significant contributions to Midway High School athletics.
Cindy was an offensive weapon at Midway High School. She scored over 1800 points – many of them on smooth and sweeping hook shots that devastated opponents with the consistency in which she made them. The teams that she played on were very competitive and won several championships in district and regional competition. Possibly the most competitive of the Rose kids, she even challenged the guys to a game as I was looking for information to include in this article. Cindy is the mother of current Midway football standout, Spencer Myers.
Randy played football and basketball for the Green Wave, and not only played on one of the best Green Wave football teams in history (’78); he is also just one of a handful of players to compete in 2 different State Tournaments as his group of “Midway Mules” became known state-wide for how they performed at the end of the year. Randy played key roles in those state tournament runs; in the finals against Meigs Country, Randy hit several shots down the stretch to secure the win and the district championship.
Sandra is best known for making “the shot” to win the district tournament in 1978. The district we were in at the time might have been the most competitive in the state. Our games were held at Hiawassee College, and it was “standing room” only each and every night. On the night of the finals, the Lady Green Waves were playing heavily favored Calhoun, and the final box score will show you why – they shot 70% for the game. But regardless of the other team’s marksmanship, the game was in Sandra’s hands at crunch time: she took the ball just to the left of the top of the key, took her defender to the bucket as if she was in an all out drive, and then coolly pulled up for a jumper that banked off the back board, and into the hoop as the buzzer sounded. She averaged 24 points per game for the tournament, and was easily recognized as the tournament’s Most Valuable Player in the hearts of Midway Green Wave fans.
And last is Michael who was also a basketball standout, but was also a vital receiver for the ’88 Midway football team. I distinctly remember a catch that Michael made, as a sophomore, at Rockwood one night to put us in position to win the game – it was “big time.” In a hostile environment, and a swarming Rockwood defense, Lance Wheaton fired a rocket from about 25 yards out to hit Michael as he crossed the goal line in stride. He is also the only “3 sport” player of the Rose kids as he had the chance to play some baseball while at Midway. It’s rare when a player can make the statement that he has thrown and caught touchdown passes, had high scoring basketball games, and hit some homeruns as well. Michael can make the claim.
Why were the Rose kids so competitive? Probably because Ed was so active with them. Sandra told me that she remembers that her dad would “play games” with them practically every day in every season of the year – she remembers coming home from basketball practice (in the winter), and they would go out … to play basketball in the back yard when she returned home. Cindy remembers him as being first and foremost “a supporter,” but also remembers the games in the backyard:
“We played basketball all the time in our backyard as most of you know. The ball goal is still there and there have been a lot of games played in the back yard!! The grass court would get pretty worn down. Dad was going to pour a concrete court but I’m glad he never did as this made you a better dribbler!! One evening as we were having a family discussion from Dad that you should never miss a foul shot (as I think it was Randy who was not having the best percentage at the time) Dad said he could hit 50 out of 50 – that it was a matter of concentration. Of course we bet him and went out to the backyard court and he hit 49 out of 50!!!”
We could dive into stats from games past, and signature calls of some of the greatest plays in Midway football history, but Ed is a legend for not only being one of Midway’s first great athletes, but in the longevity in serving his community for over 3 decades. He’s a legend for doing something that parent’s just don’t take the time to do anymore with their kids, and that’s to give them a life-long passion for sports that they can enjoy and pass on to others.
John Ward’s retirement in 1999 was a lot bigger to me than, say, the break-up of the Beatles. Ward’s calls had been the most consistent thing in my life, other than my parents, for the entire span of my existence. Ed Rose has had that impact on so many in our community. When current coach, Craig Moser says some of his best memories are of Ed calling Midway football games, that’s saying something. Craig has some great plays that he could recall of himself, played on very good teams, and is in the process of developing Midway into a consistent regional and state powerhouse in football. But Craig, like so many of us, remembers Ed’s calls as being something out of the ordinary and special.
So in recognizing Ed Rose as a Midway Legend, let’s say thanks for making the effort as a player, a father and for adding more to our Friday nights than “it’s 2nd down and 5.” Thanks for being the “Voice of Midway Green Wave football.”