Dick Vitale
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Richard J. "Dick" Vitale, also known as "Dickie V" and "Mr. College Basketball" (b. June 9, 1939 in Passaic, New Jersey) is an American sports broadcaster who is well known for his spirited style of broadcasting, primarily on ESPN and its family of cable television channels. Vitale was a finalist for election to the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2004, 2006 and 2007 (he was left out in 2005).
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[edit] Coaching
[edit] High School Coaching
After his graduation from Seton Hall, he planned on becoming a teacher. Vitale took his first job as a coach at Mark Twain Elementary School in Garfield, New Jersey in 1963. Eventually, he moved through the high school ranks to become head coach at Garfield High School for one season, and at East Rutherford High School (his alma mater) for seven, where his teams won two state championships.
[edit] College Coaching
Vitale then served as an assisant coach before being hired by the University of Detroit in 1973 to become its head coach. There, he took the team to the NCAA tournament in 1977. Vitale had a 78-30 record during his tenure at Detroit, which included a 21-game winning streak during the 1977 season. During that streak, the Titans defeated Marquette University, who would go on to win the 1977 NCAA title, on the road in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. After the 1977 season, Vitale was named the university's athletic director.
[edit] NBA Coaching
He then coached the Detroit Pistons of the National Basketball Association for the 1978-79 season, leading them to a 30-52 record. Vitale was fired from the Pistons near the beginning of the 1979-80 season, after the Pistons started 4-8.
[edit] Broadcasting
He joined the then-fledgling network ESPN until another coaching job became available. He called the first college basketball game in the network's history on December 5, 1979. Since 1979, Vitale has called more than 1,000 games. Vitale, a color commentator, is often paired with play-by-play announcers Brad Nessler, Dan Shulman or Mike Patrick for ESPN college basketball games, primarily those in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
Vitale is often criticized for being a "homer" for Duke University, especially for Coach Mike Krzyzewski. He is also known for mentioning Duke frequently during broadcasts even when Duke is not playing. Temple University head coach John Chaney once said "You can't get Dick Vitale to say 15 words without Duke coming out of his mouth."[1] He is also called "Duke Vitale" or "Dookie V", a take-off on his "Dickie V" nickname, by detractors for the same reason.
In November 2006, Vitale signed a contract extension through the 2012-2013 college basketball year. The year 2007 will mark his 28th season with the network.
Vitale was recruited to do color in the first 2 rounds of the NCAA tournament by CBS, but ESPN would not allow it. However, ESPN's in-studio analyst Jay Bilas was allowed to provide color for CBS's tournament coverage, teaming with play-by-play announcer Dick Enberg.
Vitale votes on the Associated Press Top 25 men's basketball polls, and the annual Naismith Award and John Wooden Award.
Vitale was announced as one of the 15 finalists to be inducted into the NCAA Hall of Fame in the 2006-2007 season.
In February 2007, Vitale was interviewed on the phone on a Knoxville, Tennessee radio station. Not realizing he was on the air, he made a comment to someone next to him about how Billy Donovan grabbed him and told him that NBA scouts would select the Florida Gators' Al Horford over Joakim Noah in the upcoming NBA Draft. He later apologized to Florida head coach Billy Donovan and the media for making the remark, fearing that his comments would stir up trouble among the players.
During the week leading up to the Final Four in 2007, Vitale repeatedly begged Florida head coach Billy Donovan not to go to the University of Kentucky. On College GameDay on March 31, 2007, Vitale ranted that Mr. Donovan should stay at Florida. He stated time and again that Mr. Donovan would never leave Florida even though the Kentucky job is widely regarded as the premier head coaching position in college basketball. He then, however, did state that Mr. Donovan may go to the Memphis Grizzlies of the NBA.
On April 2, 2007, Vitale again reiterated his plea for Donovan not to come to the University of Kentucky. He went as far as to say that if Donovan came to Kentucky he would coach for Florida for $1 next year just to coach against Kentucky.[citation needed]
[edit] Catchphrases
Vitale is well known for covering the biggest games with his rare form of energy, coining terms like "Diaper Dandy" (an outstanding freshman), a "PTPer" (a prime time performer), "Maalox Masher" (the end of a close game), "Trifecta" (a three point basket), "slap a lapper" and "dipsy-doo dunkeroo slam-jam-bam, baby!" (an exciting slam dunk). Also, from time to time he would refer to a player making almost all his shots by saying "call the fire chief cause he's on fire!". His most well-known bon mot is to end a sentence with "baby!" He frequently says, "It's awesome baby!" Vitale's signature style is composed of his catchphrases, voice and his accent.
- See also: List of sports clichés
[edit] Personal life
Dick Vitale is blind in his left eye. He is married to Lorraine and they have two daughters. Vitale also has a master's degree in education from what is now William Paterson University. He was close friends with Jim Valvano, who was nicknamed "Jimmy V". Vitale is a Tampa Bay Devil Rays season ticket holder and fan and is frequently spotted by fans sitting in the first row behind home plate at Tropicana Field. He is a native of East Paterson, New Jersey now Elmwood Park, New Jersey. Vitale spends his offseason in Sarasota, Florida. He appears frequently on Mike and Mike in the Morning, often mentioning The Broken Egg, a breakfast restaurant in Sarasota. Vitale has been active in Sarasota politics recently, supporting the candidacy of Republican Congressman Vern Buchanan.[citation needed]
[edit] In popular culture
Vitale lent his name and voice to the 1994 Sega Genesis game, Dick Vitale's Awesome Baby! College Hoops. Vitale and Nessler also provide the commentator voices for EA Sports' NCAA March Madness video game series. In 2004, Vitale released an autobiography cowritten with Dick Weiss entitled "Living a Dream". The book has several thoughts and comments on his days with the Pistons and ESPN, and memories of former NC State basketball Coach Jim Valvano. Vitale currently stars in commercials for DiGiorno pizza and Hooters restaurants. He guest starred on The Cosby Show along with friend Jim Valvano as furniture movers in the eighth season episode The Getaway. The character "Rick Vitality" from the DOS PC game Three Point Basketball was a parody of Vitale.
[edit] References
[edit] External links
| Preceded by Bob Kauffman |
Detroit Pistons Head Coach 1978–1979 |
Succeeded by Richie Adubato |
| Preceded by incumbent |
Color Commentator 1979–current |
Succeeded by incumbent |
Categories: Articles with unsourced statements since April 2007 | All articles with unsourced statements | Articles with unsourced statements since March 2007 | 1939 births | Living people | American basketball coaches | American sports announcers | Detroit Pistons coaches | Detroit Titans men's basketball coaches | Italian-Americans | People from Passaic County, New Jersey | Rutgers Scarlet Knights men's basketball coaches
