The NCAA basketball tournament was born March 17, 1939, and Dick Vitale belted out his first cry 84 days later. Do the math. Dick Vitale, who has a blast throwing himself into the middle of college basketball crowds, is 75. I guess I never thought about his age, but that just blew me away when I read that recently.
At the age of 40, Vitale was on the call for ESPN’s first college basketball game, Dec. 5, 1979, when De Paul defeated Wisconsin, 90-77, and he hasn’t stopped since, except to take a break for a couple of months after undergoing vocal-cord surgery seven years ago today.
Vitale’s had a blast doing games, but his best work has come when he uses his fame to help causes in much the same way his look-alike, actor Brad Pitt, has. Vitale’s passion, of course, is raising funds to battling cancer. He’s relentless in trying to find ways to help. His latest effort is a fun book, “It’s Awesome, Baby!” written with Dick Weiss and Joan Williamson. Proceeds go to cancer research.
Kansas freshman Cliff Alexander is quoted in the book about his plans: “One-and-done and then come back and get my degree.”
Vitale also writes about Kansas coach Bill Self in a chapter titled, “Future Hall of Famers,” and about ex-KU coach Larry Brown in the chapter, “Senior Citizens Thriving.”
Nobody has to tell Vitale that the secret to life is living it up. He’s a great lover of life, which might have something to do with why he’s so moved by premature deaths caused by cancer. Two words best sum up Dick Vitale: Kind man.