Charlie and the Crow’s Nest

“I watched Elvis comb his hair and drink Pepsi,” recalls former radio personality and sports announcer Charlie Watts, of his encounter with “The King” at the 1956 Mississippi-Alabama Fair and Dairy Show.Although Charlie sits comfortably in his recliner, surrounded by living room walls decorated with framed flower embroidery and a striking portrait of the family’s well-loved Chihuahua, Cookie Lee, there is a fond and far off look in Charlie’s eyes as he remembers interviewing Elvis.Just four years prior, in 1952, Charlie began his radio career with a fellow navy man in Covington, Tennessee. He pursued his job to Mississippi before ending up in Jasper, as the sports announcer for the Walker College basketball team. From “The Crow’s Nest” Charlie ran the P.A. system and watched as the stands filled and the swelling crowds cheered.“The gym was always packed out,” he remembers with a grin. “The community was so supportive. And the staff…well, they were just head and shoulders above everybody else and we all knew it. I guess we were just a little proud.”Walker College boasted an outstanding basketball program in the years that Charlie served as their announcer and Coach Glen Clem led the team. Certainly there was a bond between Coach Clem and Charlie, one that was perhaps made stronger by both men’s love of gospel music. Charlie warmly remembers attending gospel singings with Clem. “Sometimes the phone would ring, and he would say, ‘Get ready, I’m coming by to pick you up.’”Clem is perhaps the most talked about sports figure in Walker County, a fact that Charlie doesn’t doubt. “Coach Clem was a cut above everybody. There were some great basketball coaches, but he was on top. He wore beautiful clothes…he had a pride about him.”When the team piled into a van and traveled all the way to Hutchinson, Kansas to compete in the NJCAA Basketball Tournament, Coach Clem came close to claiming a National Championship. Charlie chuckles before telling the whole story of what happened in Kansas that year. “We got out there and the newspaper in that town had written a story about the teams that were coming; they wrote about each team’s records and so forth— except for Walker! What they wrote was, ‘Little is known about the Walker College Basketball Team.’ Well, that night, Walker went out there and waxed the team that was supposed to win the tournament, I mean, just blew ‘em away, greased ‘em! We had a kid from Birmingham named Floyd Calhoun that asked Coach Clem after the game, ‘They know who we are now, don’t they Coach?’”With the leadership of a great coach and the magnitude of support given by fans, staff, and the community, the Walker College basketball program grew and flourished. Charlie’s wife, Yvonne, says, “I remember cooking for the basketball team on New Year’s. I took sandwiches to the gym and Coach Clem got on to me.”“She fed every one of them!” Charlie interjects, “She took brownies and cokes, and Coach Clem said, ‘How can I keep them in shape if you guys keep feeding them all that?’” It seems, however, that brownies and cokes did not slow them down.Charlie takes a drink from the cup of water beside him before plunging headfirst into another memory of sweaty players and a packed out gym. “There was a team from the west part of Georgia, a junior college team that was red hot. They hadn’t lost a game. They rolled in here and it was packed, so much that the gym ran out of standing room. The lobby was even packed; no one could get in the doors. Oh, what a magnificent event for Jasper. That bunch was wound up and we were too. The other team was the roadrunners, and they had a life size cutout of a roadrunner attached to a spring board. They put it in the center of the floor, and for a moment it rocked back and forth. But our cheerleaders went and got it, and tore off with it…It was that kind of night.”Shaking his head with a smile, Charlie continues, “When I called the starting lineup that night, each of their players would sprint all the way down the court to shake hands with Coach Clem. They were trying to get us stirred up, I guess. Well, Coach Clem left his bench and sprinted to meet one of their players; the place just exploded. It was unreal.” As Charlie finishes his story, it’s almost as if the cheers resounding in the gym that night can still be heard in the cozy atmosphere of his living room.Since the days of crowded gyms and roaring fans, Charlie’s announcing career has ended and his focus has shifted to television. In March of 1989, Charlie began working for local TV station, TV 16. Charlie, along with J.L. Sartain, hosted a morning talk show called “Coffee Time.””We both played the piano and had great fun,” Charlie comments.When “Charlie and Yvonne’s Gospel Show” premiered, it was an instant hit. The show, which includes (of course) Cookie Lee, airs on Wednesday nights and reruns on Fridays.Although Charlie now hosts a much quieter and less crowded event, his days in “The Crow’s Nest” will not be forgotten. 78