Created:10/26/2007 08:00:58 AM
Author:Mike Rogers
Key thought:Q & A with John Ralston - AR Democrat-Gazette

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Q&A with John Ralston



By Robert Yates




John Ralston, 64, has been El Dorado’s radio play-by-play voice throughout most of the past four decades, calling his first of approximately 500 games Sept. 2, 1966. Ralston is a 1961 El Dorado graduate and earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Louisiana Tech in 1966. For the past five years, Ralston has been funeral director at Young’s Funeral Home in El Dorado. QWhat is your signature call for a big play? A“Mine is Holy Cow! I kind of borrowed it from Harry Caray with the St. Louis Cardinals, way, way back. I did that back in the ’60s and it just stayed with me ever since.” QDo you think El Dorado is at a major disadvantage because it plays games off campus at Memorial Stadium? A“Oh, no. We’ve got a beautiful facility. It’s right on the main artery of town. Great field, probably one of the best natural turfs in the state. It would be nice to have it [on-campus stadium], but it’s not a disadvantage.”
QEl Dorado had traditionally played in the state’s largest classification before dropping to 6A for the 2006-2008 classification cycle. What are your feelings about splitting the state’s largest 32 schools into two, 16-team classifications?
A“Numbers are a big thing. Our numbers are down this year. Normally we’ve had in the neighborhood of 90 to 100 kids out and playing. Of course, this year Coach [Scott] Reed came in and he put in a whole new system, and he found out who wanted to play and who didn’t want to play. I think he’s got 66 on the roster this year. The numbers are down. But it’s six of one, a half-dozen of the other.”
QOther than Memorial Stadium, what is your favorite stadium to broadcast from? A“Probably War Memorial [Little Rock].” QWho is the most exciting player you’ve seen at El Dorado?
A“Probably in the last 10 to 15 years, there were two running backs. One was Donnie Harris, the other was Stacy Washington. Probably defensively — unfortunately he was shot and killed a few years back — it was [linebacker] Carlos Meeks. Carlos, he would hit anybody. He’d run into a stone wall if he knew he could drop you.”
QWhat makes a good radio playto-play announcer? A“My philosophy has been that I’m trying to present the broadcast to the people who are sitting at home, so that they can close their eyes and visualize that they’re sitting on the 50-yard line and know if the Wildcats are on the right or if the Wildcats on the left and almost try to feel like they’re in the huddle. I don’t try candy-coat it, make it funny. I try to be as professional as I can and want people to feel like they’re actually at the stadium enjoying the game, even though they can’t get there.”
QSince you’re doing the games live, is there one call that you wish you had back? A“My very first game I ever did, you talk about comical or a funny thing, I said on the opening kickoff that the guy’s got it and he’s at the 40, the 45, the 50, the 55. I caught myself because there’s no 55. That’s probably it.”
QDo you think El Dorado Promise, the new college scholarship program for El Dorado graduates being funded by Murphy Oil, will benefit the football program? A“I think it will. Right now, you don’t see any of it, but I think in time, yeah, it should. More people move to town and they bring their big sons. I think it will help the football program, the entire athletic program.”
QHow much longer do you plan to be the voice of the Wildcats? A“As long as the good Lord will let me. I enjoy it. The last state championship that the school won was my sophomore year in high school, 1958. I would love to be able to keep doing them long enough that El Dorado can win a state championship. I would love to be able to see one more state championship. That would be a good way to go out.”






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