Finnen Enjoys Being Part of Record Setting Football Rivalry
Finnen Enjoys Being Part of Record Setting Football Rivalry
Jim Finnen, NASPAA member and the "Golden Voice " of Lafayette College athletics for 44 years has the distinction of being the P.A. announcer for the Lafayette-Lehigh football rivalry. The rivalry is neither the oldest nor the longest in the nation, but it is the most played. When the two teams meet during the 2009 football season, they will be playing each other for the 145th time. No two teams have met more often on the gridiron than Lafayette and Lehigh.
Finnen came to Easton, Pennsylvania in 1961 to serve as the news director at WEST-AM. He left the station in 1964, and was approached immediately to become the public address announcer at Lafayette, with one stipulation. The fall of 1964 brought Lehigh to Fisher Field for the 100th renewal of the Lafayette-Lehigh rivalry, and P.A. announcer Dr. Finley Smith, a professor at Lafayette made that game, which ended in a 6-6 tie, his final appearance behind the microphone. Dr. Smith assumed other football game day responsibilities. He and Finnen became close friends until Dr. Smith's death several years ago.
Finnen has missed just three of the 242 home football games since he arrived on College Hill. One was a 24-18 loss to Colgate in 1974. The others were a pair of season-opening wins over Kutztown in the late 1980s. Lafayette is 140-97-7 at Fisher Stadium, home of the Leopards, with Finnen manning the public address system.
Finnen announced his 200th game in 2003 when the Leopards posted a 35-17 win over Bucknell in the home finale. The longevity of Finnen 's service to Lafayette is nearly equaled by that of his sidekick and spotter, Tom Golden.
The legendary announcer has been behind the microphone for all but a handful of the approximately 900 basketball games at the Alumni Gymnasium and Kirby Sports Center since taking our P.A. duties. By his estimation, Finnen hasn 't missed a home men's or women 's game in more than 20 years. He has also coined the phrase familiar to all Lafayette hoops fans, "and now, let 's play basketball, " which precedes the tipoff of all Leopard basketball games.
Finnen, a member of the Lafayette Athletic Hall of Fame, told the NASPAA that he considers himself very fortunate to have been part of the Lafayette family for so many years and to be able to play a role in the Lafayette-Lehigh football rivalry.