NEW ORLEANS - Legendary sportscaster Jim Henderson has announced he is retiring as the voice of the New Orleans Saints.

Henderson, 71, made the announcement on WWL Radio Thursday, saying he's leaving local broadcasting effective immediately. His departure comes on the heels of a return to form for the Sean Payton-led Saints, who had a stellar season in 2017 following several average years for the team.

"In the course of this season and the eight-game winning streak, I became enamored with this team... I thought this is the kind of high note I wanted to leave on," he said, emotionally on the Scoot Show. "I think this is a good time to leave given my age and the circumstances."

Henderson began broadcasting Saints games in the 80s, moving from the color analyst spot to the play-by-play announcing spot, which he held for nearly 30 years, minus some brief tenures with CBS and Notre Dame football.

Henderson is known for his famous calls like "Hakim drops the ball!' in the Saints first playoff win against the Rams and his "Pigs have flown" call after the team advanced to its first Super Bowl in 2010.