The year is 1970. The Vietnam War is raging. Elvis Presley and U.S. President Richard Nixon meet in the White House. That image of the meeting becomes the most requested image from the entire National Archives. The Dow Jones Industrial Average hovers around 800 points, and the North Tower of the World Trade Center in New York City is completed. At 1,368 feet, it is the tallest building in the world.
In sports, ABC introduces Monday Night Football, the NBA adds the Portland Trailblazers, and in the Stevenson High School gymnasium, a young man steps up to the microphone for the first time as the in-house announcer for Bulldog basketball games.
John Lofberg (who prefers to go by just “J”) hung up that microphone Feb. 1 after 52 years and more than 500 games. That’s long enough that he’s announced names of team members who are the children of those he first announced, and a few grandchildren as well.
Lofberg was also a popular teacher at the school for decades. He retired in 1997, but couldn’t give up the thrill of the sport — not to mention the great seat and free admission to all the home games.
That evening in December 1970 wasn’t his first announcing experience. That goes back to his days growing up in Chehalis.
“It really started when I was 12 years old,” he said in a recent interview. “I was playing Little League baseball, and after games I would go up to the scorer’s box where my mom and dad were keeping score. I saw the microphone, so I said, ‘Do you mind?,’ and they said, ‘No.’ So I was up there doing, I guess, something like a play-by-play.”
He said he had watched baseball on television for three or four years with the colorful coverage provided by the likes of Dizzy Dean, Pee Wee Reese and Buddy Blattner.
“I thought I didn’t know if there would be a better job than this, sharing my enjoyment of sports. So when I went to Washington State, I enrolled in the Edward R. Murrow School of Broadcasting.
“I have always enjoyed watching very carefully. As much as anything, it is to force myself to not slack off, to be observant, then try to get anything that I’ve seen over to the viewers or listeners.”
When he came to the Gorge and started teaching in Stevenson, he said the job of basketball announcing was open.
“It was sort of like an early example of orange jumpsuits along the roadway. Nobody wanted to do it, so I took it and I loved it,” he said. “I found that with each season, I was much more comfortable.”
That comfort allowed him to be at ease at some of his other gigs, like stints on radio stations, including Q-104, Y-102 and KACI in The Dalles and KBOO in Portland. For years he brought a portable DJ rig to dances, reunions and parties. He also announced acts at the Portland Blues Festival for decades in front of crowds of thousands of people.
One of his favorite moments came when he directed an announcement to people in hotels across the street, listening without buying tickets.
“You know, you guys are freeloaders,” he said. “I want to see you flick your lights on and off if you like this stuff. That turned the crowd around, and they saw all the flickering lights.”
Part of Lofberg’s secret of success is his upbeat attitude.
“I try always to be positive,” he said. “I never criticize or question what the referees do. I have nothing but great respect for what they do. They are wonderful, dedicated people. It’s so sad that some people feel it’s their duty to be rough and rude. They’re a long way from the action.”
When he announced on his Facebook page recently that he was going to retire, it drew hundreds of comments, many of them from former students now grown up.
“Stevenson High School is so lucky to have you,” wrote Alyson Castonguay. “Your tireless, fair, polished, lively coverage has been a treat all these years. Definitely a blessing for all.”
Patrick Noonan wrote, “I still remember you announcing my name as I ran out to center court, some of the best memories of my life.”
And Kevin Fritz added, “Thank you so much for making SHS sports so much more than just any old school — generations of happy memories.”
At more than half a century on the job, Lofberg has made plenty of memories.
Many who shared those memories showed up at the February 1 Castle Rock game to send him off in style. And at the end of the game, Athletic Director Chris Perk presented Lofberg with a jersey with the number 52 on it, a thoughtful and appropriate gesture for a man who made many happy memories.
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