Mike Walden, the first to become a football and basketball voice at USC and UCLA, then parlaying his broadcasting persona into a comedy straight man, died Sunday at age 89, USC confirmed Friday.
Walden, a Springfield, Ill., native who lived in Tarzana, was inducted into the USC Athletic Hall of Fame in 2009 as well as the Southern California Sports Broadcasters Hall of Fame.
He started in Southern California calling USC sports from 1966 to 1972 and then went to UCLA for a run of 18 more years (1973-90), both on radio and TV.
His broadcasting career began after two years in the Air Force, doing play-by-play for his alma mater, the University of Illinois.