Longtime Dallas area host Norm Hitzges will retire from his 10am-12pm show on Cumulus Media’s “The Ticket” 1310 KTCK Dallas/96.7 KTCK-FM Flower Mound on Friday, June 23.
The 78 year-old Hitzges joined KTCK in 2000 following a fifteen year run at sister 570 KLIF in mornings and nights. He began his career in 1975 at 90.1 KERA-FM hosting a Saturday morning show. Hitzges is currently heard on the 10am-12pm “Norm & D Invasion” with Donovan Lewis. He has also has served as television play-by-play voice for Dallas Sidekicks soccer and was an MLB analyst for ESPN in the early 1990s.
Cumulus Media announces that longtime DFW sports broadcaster and radio host, Norm Hitzges, announced his retirement from radio on-air this morning on Sportsradio 96.7FM/1310 AM The Ticket/KTCK-FM. Hitzges’ last morning broadcast will be on Friday, June 23rd.
A pioneer in sports radio, Hitzges hosted the first full-time Sports/Talk show in morning drive time in the U.S. over 30 years ago on Cumulus Dallas station KLIF. In 2000, Hitzges moved to Sportsradio 96.7 and 1310 The Ticket, where he has continued to serve Dallas-Fort Worth, currently hosting from 10am until Noon with Donovan Lewis. He recently celebrated his 48th anniversary of being continuously on the air talking sports in DFW.
Hitzges is known for his enthusiasm and knowledge of sports trivia and his penchant for and success in handicapping all sports, and especially in his first love outside of broadcasting, horse racing. He has been honored by the Texas Radio Broadcasters Hall of Fame, the Dallas All of Sports Association and the Texas Baseball Hall of Fame. He also hosts the “Norm-A-Thon,” a yearly day-long marathon broadcast to raise money for area homeless. In 22 years, the event has raised over $8.9 million for Austin Street Center. Though retiring, Hitzges will continue to be a part of special events on The Ticket, including draft coverage and the annual Norm-a-Thon event.
Dan Bennett, Regional Vice President, Cumulus Media-Dallas/Houston, said: “From the minute Norm hit the airwaves 36 years ago on KLIF and then the Ticket you could tell he was a special communicator. He truly Is one of Dallas Radio’s great storytellers and he kept it going with Susquehanna and then Cumulus all these years. Not many have that kind of staying power. We wish him every happiness in his well-deserved retirement.”
Norm Hitzges commented: “I’m so proud to be a part of what The Ticket has built—a ratings dominator in a fantastic sports city. I shall so miss the daily “rush” of being on the air. But after 48 consecutive years on the air in Dallas doing sports talk, it’s time to move on to the next phase of my life, whatever that may be.
This story first appeared on radioinsight.com