Profile of Dick Vitale on Famous Like Me

Dick Vitale (aka Dicky V) (born June 9, 1939 in East Rutherford, New Jersey) is an American broadcaster who is well known for his spirited style of broadcasting, primarily on ESPN.

Vitale did not set out to become a broadcaster after his graduation from Seton Hall University. Instead, he planned on becoming a teacher and coach. 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.

As the 1970s dawned, Vitale took a job as an assistant coach at Rutgers University. In 1973, he was called by the University of Detroit to become its head coach. He took the team to the NCAA tournament in 1977. He then coached the Detroit Pistons for the 1978-79 season.

Vitale was fired from the Pistons after the 1978-79 season. He joined the 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 1000 games. He is well known for covering the biggest games with his rare form of energy, coining terms like "diaper dandy" (a star underclassman), a PTPer (a prime time player), and "Maalox Moments" (the end of a close game).

Vitale has said on air that he is blind in one eye.

Vitale has recently been mentioned as a candidate for election to the Basketball Hall of Fame.

He is also known for being extremely biased in favor of Duke, earning the name Duke Vitale.

His current on-air partner for ESPN college basketball games is Brad Nessler. He and Brad also provide the commentator voices for EA Sports' NCAA March Madness video game series.

In 2004 Dick 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. He also makes several comments on the age limit in the NBA and superstars like LeBron James.

Samples of Dick's calls

• "Oh yes, hello! Billy 'The Chill' Owens, slam-jam-bammer!"
• "Oh, what a play! What a play! Slam jam bam baby! Corchiani!"
• "And they love it in Ann Arbor!"
• "The three 'S' man: super, sensational, scintillating!"
• "It's awesome, baby, it's awesome!"
• "He's awesome with a capital 'A'!"
• "Oh, between his legs! I can't believe it!"
• "Rock 'n roll! It's party time now in Syracuse, she loves it!"
• "That's gotta be the best shot of the year! Unbelievable move!"
• "Can you imagine the Carrier Dome right now? It'd be unbelievable!"
• "There it is! There they go! Boom, bam, bingo!"
• "There it is! It's over! It's over! It's over!"
• "Get a TO, Mr. Knight! Get a TO, baby! Get a time-out, Mr. Knight!"
• "Uh oh! Uh oh! Uh oh!"
• "Oh, you gotta feel for those kids, you gotta feel for 'em!"
• "College basketball! You gotta love it, College Basketball!"
• "He's a jet with a rocket in his hands!"
• "Dipsy-doo dunkaroo!"

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