Longtime Detroit Sports Broadcaster Dave Diles Dies

By Andrew Gauthier 

Detroit Free Press

Longtime local and national sports broadcaster, commentator and author Dave Diles died over the weekend at his Athens, Ohio, home from complications of a recent stroke. He was 78.

Diles was a mainstay of Detroit sports for much of the 1960s, ’70s and ’80s when he worked for WXYZ-AM radio and WXYZ-TV (Channel 7). He hosted the first radio sports talk show in Detroit, called “Dial Dave Diles.”

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Diles gained national fame when he worked for ABC Sports for part of the ’70s and ’80s, hosting “Wide World of Sports” and the “Prudential College Football Scoreboard.”

“Dave was one of the smartest men I’ve ever met and most certainly the smartest man in the industry,” said Mort Meisner, who worked with Diles at Channel 7 from 1979-81. “Dave brought an extraordinary touch of class and thoughtfulness to news. He was not a showman. He was a true voice for sports.” More…

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