No more hoping that my wife asks me to run errands during Georgia games so I have an excuse to listen to the radio.   Larry Munson has retired.

Munson, who has been Georgia’s play-by-play man since before I was born, turns 86 this Sunday, and his rapidly declining health led him to just call home games since the start of last season.

With every meaningful game on TV these days, we forget what an important connection radio play-by-play announcers had with their team’s fans not all that long ago.  Munson is one of the last of a breed, a spectacular homer who lived and died with the Bulldogs.  Just the sound of his voice made you think “Georgia football”.

I was fortunate to be fourth-row center court for the Celtics clincher over the Lakers this past June (thanks again, Dan), and in the concluding moments of the blowout a montage of Johnny Most clips were played over the PA system while on the video board they showed the microphone that memorializes him at the new Boston Garden.  The place went bonkers.

Larry Munson has the same kind of connection with Georgia fans. To say that he’ll be missed around here is a gargantuan understatement.  Some of his best calls set to video are here.

• “Scott Woerner Woerner Woerner Woerner!!!”
• “We just stepped on their face with a hobnail boot and broke their nose!  We just crushed their face!”
• “Run, Lindsay….Lindsay Scott! Lindsay Scott! Lindsay Scott!….Man, is there gonna be some property destroyed tonight.”
• “He’s running over people!….Oh, you Herschel Walker!…My God, a freshman!!”
• “Hunker down, you guys!…I know I’m asking a lot, but just hunker it down one more time!”

This one is a little more complete, though with still photos and not video.  If you like college football, waste invest ten minutes in these.  You won’t be sorry.

Thanks for the memories, Larry.  You’ll be missed.