When Marques Colston, wide receiver for the New Orleans Saints, made his record-breaking catch on Sunday, Sept. 8, against the Atlanta Falcons, it was not JerryRomig , A ’46 public address announcer, who made the call.

It was, Jerry Romig said, an emotional moment.

“Sunday was a day of gladness and sadness,” Jerry said. “I was sad that it wasn’t me, but glad that it was Mark.”

Ending his run as public address announcer for the New Orleans Saints, Jerry Romig has passed the microphone to his son, Mark Romig, who made the call.

The Loyola alumnus called his last game against the Oakland Raiders on Aug. 16.

The elder Romig’s calls were a fixture at the New Orleans Saints’ home games for 44 years and 466 games.

To thousands of people New Orleans, his voice is the one they hear in their heads when the men in black and gold take the field.

He was given an honorary Super Bowl XLIV ring from the team in a ceremony prior to the Atlanta Falcons game.

But Jerry has been far more than just a voice in the city, collleagues said.

John Korbel, who worked with Jerry at WDSU in the 1960s when Jerry was a program manager for the station, said Jerry was instrumental in forming parts of the news community.

“Jerry was very much part of the initial and later developments for WLAE, working closely with Archbishop Hannan to make the station the reality of the dream the archbishop had. He was very much a part of the news team in every way he could be,” Korbel said.

Dominic Massa, executive producer and special projects director for WWL-TV, agreed.

“In television he was behind the scenes more than in front of the camera, but behind the scenes, he was one of the people who identified and recruited and put these now- famous shows on the air. He was involved at a pivotal time in the media industry,” Massa said.

Jerry graduated with a degree in journalism from Loyola, which he said helped him throughout his career.

Jerry said it was Loyola that helped him grow into the man he is today.

“Loyola is very special to me. Spiritually, academically, it is first class. It’s an outstanding university, and the people there are of the highest caliber,” Jerry said.

Massa said that Jerry’s education at Loyola has made itself evident in his character.

“There was certainly humility there,” Massa said.

“He was involved in so many different things and it wasn’t always about him being in the spotlight. He didn’t work on just the Saints or on big television, he worked on community causes, things that brought people together.”

Massa said he’s also seen the spirit of New Orleans in Jerry’s home.

“He and his whole family, between his sons and daughters and his wife, the whole family is sort of the quintessential New Orleans family, and he always has been,” Massa said.

Emily Andras can be reached at [email protected]