| Paul Eells | |
| Birth Name: | Paul Irving Eells |
| Birth Date: | 24 September 1935 |
| Birth Place: | Iowa City, Iowa, U.S. |
| Death Place: | Russellville, Arkansas, U.S. |
| Occupation: | Sportscaster |
| Genre: | Play-by-play |
| Sport: | College Football, College Basketball |
Paul Eells (September 24, 1935 - July 31, 2006) was an American sportscaster.
He was the "Voice of the Razorbacks",[1] broadcasting University of Arkansas basketball games on television and (after 1978) football games on radio. Eells was also sports director at KATV in Little Rock, Arkansas, the Allbritton Communications Company owned ABC-affiliated television station in that market.
Eells grew up in Mechanicsville, Iowa and graduated from the University of Iowa. Eells went to Iowa on a baseball scholarship but there found his love in radio. A communications major, Eells soon found himself in television at WMT in Cedar Rapids. There he worked his way up to booth anchor and would eventually hold the title of "Voice of the Iowa Hawkeyes" for five years.
Eells moved to Nashville, Tennessee in 1967. During his 10-year stay in Nashville, he was Sports Director at WSM-TV (later WSMV-TV) and play-by-play announcer of Vanderbilt Commodores football and basketball on radio.
In 1978, he moved to central Arkansas to become sports director at KATV in Little Rock; radio play-by-play announcer for the Razorbacks football team; TV play-by-play announcer for the Razorbacks basketball team; and host of the TV football and basketball Razorbacks coaches shows. He was known and beloved statewide for his fantastic broadcasting voice and his trademark "Oh My" and "Touchdown Arkansas" radio calls. While in Nashville, Eells' trademark radio call was "Holy Smokes."
Eells worked with several notable sports figures as "color men" while covering Arkansas Football, including Barry Switzer, former football coach of the Oklahoma Sooners and Dallas Cowboys as well as member of the 1964 National Championship Arkansas Razorbacks football team; Rick Schaeffer, former Sports Information Director for the University of Arkansas, Razorback historian, and author of several Razorback-themed books; and Keith Jackson, Arkansas native and former tight end for the Oklahoma Sooners, and later Philadelphia Eagles and Green Bay Packers of the NFL. Additionally, Eells spent several years working with ESPN commentator and former Razorback Jimmy Dykes as part of the locally syndicated Razorback Basketball non-conference television package.
During his time as "Voice of the Razorbacks", Eells became an iconic figure in the state of Arkansas, as is evidenced by the fact that Eells was inducted into the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame in 2006. He was also named Arkansas Sportscaster of the Year 13 times, and was also honored several times with an Associated Press award for best sports play-by-play. Eells was routinely referred to as the "nicest man" in the state of Arkansas, according to numerous personal accounts aired on KATV-TV and printed in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette in the days that followed Eells' death.
While returning home from a golf tournament on July 31, 2006, Eells died in an auto accident on Interstate 40 in Russellville, Arkansas at age 70.[2] He lived in Maumelle, Arkansas at the time of his death.
In time for the first University of Arkansas football game of the 2006 season, Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee proclaimed September 2, 2006 "Paul Eells Day". That night in a game against the USC Trojans, the Razorback Marching Band honored Eells by spelling his name during its halftime routine. Later that month in Arkansas' football game at Vanderbilt, Eells was honored before the game with a moment of silence. Eells was posthumously honored by the decision to name the home broadcast booth at Little Rock's War Memorial Stadium for both him and Jim Elder, long-time voice of the Arkansas Travelers and statistician for the Arkansas football radio broadcast crew. In addition, Eells is honored in the Press Box with a plaque on the Sports Media Legends Wall of Honor.