Texas Tech University Athletics
Remembering Jack Dale
August 01, 2011 | General
Aug. 1, 2011
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by Britton Drown
Texas Tech Athletics Communications
It's not often that someone touches a community the way Jack Dale did.
A native of Alma, Kan., Dale did not have much of a connection to city of Lubbock, Texas when he first arrived in 1952.
He did not graduate from Texas Tech, and in fact Dale never even attended college.
But slowly, Dale found a way to transfix the hearts, lives and imaginations of those who listened to him paint the picture of Texas Tech Athletics on KFYO-AM.
See Dale was a storyteller, and Texas Tech was his narrative.
For over 50 years Dale, who passed away Friday night at the age of 79, immersed himself with the athletes at Texas Tech, even helping to launch Lubbock's first daily sports show, Jack Dale's Sportsline, in 1992.
Soon his name, deep loyalty and voice, became synonymous with the university.
"He was probably the most prominent media person ever." former Sports Information Director Joe Hornaday said of Dale's influence on the Lubbock community. "He fell in love with the town and with Texas Tech, and never even thought about leaving."
Dale was inducted into the Texas Tech Hall of Honor in 1990 and the Texas Sports Hall of Fame in 2005.
"He just meant so much to so many fans because he crossed generations, not just a couple of decades," Ryan Hyatt, Radio Host at 1340 KKAM, said. "When you are talking 50 years, and even more with his call-in show, to generations of [Texas] Tech fans, he was football, he was Red Raider basketball. They grew up listening to his voice and they associated players and they associated coaches and all the championships through the years. The common thread through all of that was Jack Dale."
During his unprecedented career, he broadcasted more than 1,300 men's basketball games and 47 college football seasons. His final basketball game, an NIT Final Four match inside the historic Madison Square Garden in New York City in 2003, fittingly capped off his career behind the microphone.
"They made a big deal out of it and I really think he thought that was neat to be in such a historic place," Hornaday said.
But even after retiring from play-by-play duties, Dale didn't remove himself from the sports scene at Texas Tech. Dale continued remain involved by co-hosting a Texas Tech pre-game football show, Countdown to Kickoff, on Saturdays across from Jones AT&T stadium.
Dale planned to continue co-hosting the show this fall.
"He was just so involved in everything on a day-to-day basis," Hornaday said. "He really was the headline person in presenting our football and basketball games to the public for six decades His loss is just a heartbreaker for a lot of Red Raiders."
Dale will be remembered for much more than what he accomplished behind the microphone. His influence was felt far beyond the airways and deep within the Lubbock community, one that he served so diligently for so long. Known well as someone who never turned down an opportunity to help somebody, Dale was also never someone who expected anything in return.
"He just fit in so well and helped so many people in whatever they needed." Hornaday said. "He did so many different things for people. He never turned anybody down."
While Dale came to Lubbock with little connection to the community, it's clear he has left as someone truly impossible to replace.
"He was a Christian man and a true gentleman," Hyatt said. "He would rather be remembered by that than broadcasting or any of the other things that he did in his life. He was a Christian and that was the best example he gave, was how to live life."
Funeral Services for Jack Dale will be held at 2 p.m. on Tuesday at Trinity Church. Visitation will be held from 5-8 p.m. on Monday at Resthaven Funeral Home.
Additional Coverage
A Legend Lost: Jack Dale, a Texas Tech fixture on Lubbock airwaves since 1952, died Friday (Lubbock AJ)
Remembering Jack Dale (RaiderPower.com)
Guns Up, Jack Dale (RedRaiderSports.com)
1340 AM Remembers Jack Dale
