Jeff Blanton has joked to his wife that nobody is watching Oswego High School games because he’s announcing them.

They tune in, he says, because they want to watch their child or grandchild play.

“They would be watching if anybody was doing them,” Blanton said.

Typical Jeff Blanton. Mild, modest and understated, Blanton would never be the kind of person to call attention to himself. He’s simply the voice in the booth.

Blanton’s been that voice for over a quarter-century, and on May 13 called his 1,000th Oswego High School sporting event when the softball team hosted Minooka.

“I certainly didn’t think I would get that many,” Blanton said. “It means a lot.”

Blanton, Oswego Class of 1983, reflected recently on his first day of high school way back when, not knowing where he was going, not knowing what was going on.

“If you would have told me years later I was doing this I would have laughed,” Blanton said. “Nobody would have believed that.”

Blanton, who has worked for 20 years in accounting for Oncourse Home Solutions in Naperville, got a degree in communications at Quincy University. He worked at a number of radio stations – most, he noted, do not exist any more.

“When I worked in radio I did news. There was not the opportunity to do the games,” Blanton said. “I was the producer back at the station doing the pregame and postgame show. I was not doing the play-by-play until a few opportunities showed up.”

He first did Oswego games for Aurora Community Television during the 1998-1999 school year. He did Kaneland and Little Ten Conference games for a Sugar Grove station from 1999 until 2009.

In 2013, he was called by George Bailey and said they were going to stream Oswego games. He has broadcast games on the NFHS Network since.

“We started football and expanded into basketball, volleyball, baseball and softball. We do 75-80 games a year,” Blanton said. “We don’t do every sport, but we do quite a few. It’s fun, I enjoy it.”

Blanton tries to keep his broadcasts simple. Not a lot of in-depth stuff, he just tells viewers what is going on. He is not opinionated and tries not to be too much of a homer, even as he calls games for his hometown and alma mater.

“I try to keep it as down the middle as I can,” Blanton said. “But there are times that I slip.”

Blanton never did care for over the top rooting during broadcasts that he’s tuned in to.

“I never liked that. I am rooting for Oswego, but I am going to recognize good performances for the other team,” Blanton said. “If they are doing a good job, I’m going to let people know. We try to keep it pretty much to here, this is what’s going on.”

Blanton pretty much does all home games, does not travel or go on the road.

Whether in the basketball gym or football field, Blanton tries to keep things positive.

“I always tell people these are children. They are doing their best. They are going to make mistakes and things are going to happen,” Blanton said. “I try to remember that all the time. If there is a mistake this is all part of a learning experience of being a student.”

Blanton has plenty of memorable games that come to mind. A crosstown baseball night game at Oswego where hordes of MLB scouts came to watch Oswego East pitcher Noah Schultz. Oswego football’s semifinal win over Lockport last November. An Oswego basketball win in overtime where Zach West made a big shot.

And sometimes, memorable games in not necessarily memorable seasons.

“I remember a girls basketball game, they were down and won it at the buzzer and to see the excitement, the boys team was in the gym, you can see in the broadcast the boys getting on the bleachers, getting excited, running around,” Blanton said. “There have just been so many over the years.”

His wife has been to a few games over the years, but Blanton would not call her a sports fan.

“She came to a football game a few years ago with some friends visiting from South America,” he said. “They were not sure what was going on. They thought the band was great.”

Blanton’s is a unique perspective on Oswego High School athletics now, and from yesteryear when he was a student.

Blanton is humbled to have been inducted into the Oswego Athletic Hall of Fame.

“Oswego was very different when I was in high school,” he said. “The football program was down. Karl Hoinkes was hired the first year I was in high school and things really turned around from there. I didn’t go to many games, kept stats for the baseball team and went to a few basketball games.

“I don’t think sports was as big as it is right now. Football was a big deal. Women’s sports were not as big of a deal as they are now, It was 40 some years ago. To see the growth in the girls sports is just incredible.”