For over a decade, the Voice could be heard over the Yazoo airwaves every Friday night. The Voice, also known as Walter Patterson, announced the weekly football games for the Manchester Academy Mavericks. But as he places his microphone down to announce his retirement, there is a lull of silence…signaling the end of a local era.
“I just want to thank everyone who listened and called us,” Patterson said, looking up at the MA press box named in his honor. “And I thank everyone for their patience because I know a lot of times, we were probably confused. But we had some great friends and sponsors who stuck with us through thick and thin.”
Although Patterson laughs when he talks about “the confusion” that sometimes happened over the radio, he admits it was a role he was totally unfamiliar with when he accepted the job in 2009.
“It was all totally by accident,” he said. “One day, I was at home, minding my own business, when (MA Headmaster) Coach Bryan Dendy called me and told me they needed somebody to broadcast the games. I told him that I had no idea what to do.”
Colon Johnston, owner and manager of Power 107, trained Patterson on everything he knew about broadcasting sporting events. Along with partner and fellow broadcaster Tommy Peaster, a team was formed.
“Colon and his wife Brenda are the finest people to work for that I have ever come across,” Patterson said. “Colon has a wealth of knowledge in radio broadcasting, and he was able to tell us how to improve ourselves as broadcasters. I must thank him for what he did and thank Mrs. Brenda for being so patient with us.”
A relationship with Peaster was already established for Patterson. The two previously knew each other before coming aboard as the MA broadcasting duo. And that relationship was evident in the often humorous approaches the two took with announcing the football games.
“I was up in the Delta talking to some people who listened to our broadcast,” Patterson said. “This lady said, ‘y’all are so funny.’ But we didn’t intend to be funny. We were just trying to broadcast the game. She told us how hilarious we were. I started to wonder if I had been doing my job right.”
Peaster eventually left the partnership to pursue other endeavors.
“Tommy left and started playing in band,” Patterson said. “That was more fun that broadcasting, but he is still my close friend. He is doing good and still is a very funny person.”
Broadcasting duties soon became a family affair with Patterson being joined by his daughters, Kim Walton and Stefanie Dendy, as well as grandson Blayke Dendy.
And it was just as rewarding for Patterson, who was also able to watch his own grandchildren play in the games he was broadcasting over the years.
“In my time as broadcasting, I broadcasted four state championship games, of which MA won two,” he said. “It was a great thing, and we tried to do a good job of telling the people who couldn’t come to the games what was happening. Blayke helped me in two of the games, and it was just a lot of fun.”
The most memorable game?
“It was here at MA, against St. Joseph,” Patterson said “It came down to last play of game. I was telling Dendy to go ahead and tie the game. He was telling his kids to go win the game, and he did. It was a real big upset, and those kids played their hearts out and won that game. It sent us to the playoffs.”
Patterson, who also played football a Anding High School as the quarterback, loves the game. It was the perfect scenario for him to broadcast the sport he loved.
“I enjoyed playing football,” he said. “I enjoyed my teammates, bonding with them and having a goal that all of us had to work towards. Fortunately, we had a good team at Anding High School. I played with Will Thompson, and he probably loved it more than anyone on our team.”
In the upcoming days, Patterson will be on the road to watch his grandsons Blayke and Dylan Dendy play baseball, as well as his grandson Ty Walton at MA. And he admits, there is a “honey-do” list waiting for him at home.
But he will always remember when The Voice was born.
“I have loved every minute of this,” Patterson said. “If old age hadn’t caught up with me, they would have probably had to drag me out of the press box.”
