Dave Newhouse, longtime sports writer for the Oakland Tribune, (almost 40 years) has called it quits.
The veteran columnist effectively decided to leave the BANG, (Bay Area News Group) on his own terms rather than slog through another round of recent layoffs.
Newhouse leaves behind a stellar career in which he covered the Raiders, A's, SF 49ers, Giants, and Golden State Warriors.
He was among an elite Tribune sports dept, (pre-BANG), that included such esteemed writers like Ron Bergman, the late Ralph Wiley, and Kit Stier.
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I am a little biased because Dave is my neighbor, but the biggest mistake KNBR made was replacing Dave with the petulant Ralpharoo.
ReplyDeleteHe's about the last of the old Trib crew looks like-- cept maybe Monte Poole and Harry Harris. Some of my faves gone from the Trib: Snapp, Wong, Payton,Evangelista, Pleschitt, among others. The new crop... shake my head. Angela Woodall was so-called "reporting" duringthe general strike but seemed more like she was being a cheer leader and not being objective.
ReplyDeleteI like Angela Hill though- she has a nice quirky column and even her stories have a certain instant recognizability to them.
He was on Comcast during the Al Davis tributes. Dave is still sharp,but looked tired. I wouldn't doubt Al's passing and all the time that has passed also figured in with his decision.
ReplyDeleteGood luck to Newhouse, he made Oakland proud.
ReplyDeleteIt's our loss, and the community's. It's an honor and a pleasure to have worked with Dave.
ReplyDeletebooooooring old guy who needs a rest. How about asking a tough question once....I call this guy mr softball...i never saw him ask a tough question once...fluff fluff fluff...will not be missed
ReplyDeleteI will miss Mr. Newhouse. And I miss the old Tribune, but not the piece of tissue paper that they throw on the driveway these days.
ReplyDeleteI liked his columns, with the exception of one a long time ago that called Billy Beane racist becuase at that time they had no black players (I think pre-frank thomas). That was the dumbest thing I ever read.
ReplyDelete"take your place on the great mandella...the wheel of life..." peter paul and mary..this guy was a good writer and passable on the radio but sometimes it's just time admit THAT DAY is TODAY and find other things to do..
ReplyDeleteMr. "5:00 pm", why the vitriol? You really should concentrate on getting a new contract at KNBR, instead of posting comments on this blog, Ralpharoo.
ReplyDeleteI always liked Dave's writing and his understated style when he hosted the original Sports Phone 68 back in the 1980s. He was class personified.
ReplyDeleteThen sometime in mid-1989, I remember when The Susquehanna Radio Group purchased KNBR and showed Dave (and a few others at the station I liked, like Leo LaPorte and C.J. Bronson) the door. What was bad about this acquisition was that the news management team changed the format at KNBR from Music, General Talk and Sports to Sport 24/7. Worse yet, those knuckleheads promoted Mr. Amicis to the top host spot at night. And as far as I am concerned, that was the beginning of the end. Within a few years KNBR went from being a classy radio station to a repository for a bunch of know-nothing, narcissistic jerk-offs. What a sad end to a great tradition. But I am happy for Dave's decision to step down (principles intact) while he was still near the top of his game. Dave is in his early 70s now and I am assuming he doesn't need the money. Whatever the case may be, I wish Dave Good Luck in his retirement. He earned it.
Your reporting sports reminded me of the writers of my youth,I'm 71. You wrote insightful invormative and interesting articles. Thanks
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ReplyDeletePatrick Connor is a GOON. First he used the word HARD-ON over his radio drunks saloon show at about 1115 am and then when he signed off at 1157 he read a text from someone who said something to the effect "that he should be more like Tebow, Mark Jackson or his mom in not using the word hardon"....In reading the text you could hear him rubbing it in to the texter as he repeated the word twice.
Can't imagine REAL talk show hosts using the english like that.
WHAT A GOON he is. Where did he come from anyway?
People bashing Newhouse might be (not sure) be in the 18-38 yr old range.
ReplyDeleteNobody who has followed or listened to Dave compared to the Dibbley-Connor-Radnich-Barbieri-Kruegar-Townsend-Bruce-Fitzgerld-Byrnes-Brooks group must be from the similar ilk of those mentioned.
Dave and fellow Sportsphone host Hank Greenwall never chose to YELL or babble into a micriphone like the current crop.
Byrnes may just be the worst of all time. And boring must surely be subjective. When Hammer chose Byrnes over Woodson the rant was Woodson was boring.
Jesus, Mary and Joseph then = Give me Woodson, Marty Lurie, Lowell Cohn, Ira Miller,Ted Robinson, Tim Roye, John Lund, Kevin the Rat, Rich Wolcoff, Joe Fonzi, John Schader, Jan Hutchinson and even Tolbert. None of those human beings come across as yelling over the air waves.
Sad to see Dave retire, but journalism just isn't the same. As for the poster who said Dave is "tired and boring," hey buddy, you're tired and boring! Some of us actually like real journalists who respect the profession, understand sports and try to develop professional relationships with the athletes they cover.
ReplyDeleteBeing "confrontational and controversial" may
"move the needle," "Create Buzz" and "stir things up" but most of the time I hear people braying on the air, or making wild speculations in the newspaper or on the internet, I wonder if they ever got enough attention when they were kids or are just plain jerks. But unfortunately I guess that's part of the world we live in today.
Sad to see people such as Dave Newhouse, who represented civility, professionalism, and credibility pushed aside because blatant corporate greed and homogenization is now endemic to our media.
@Anonymous 11/4 11:43PM, It was Dave Del Grande who called Billy Beane a racist NOT Dave Newhouse. Beane was offended by the piece and wrote a letter to the Tribune. Del Grande then apologized. Del Grande was a hack.
ReplyDeleteDave? I thought it was Monte who said the A's were racist.
ReplyDeleteP Conn is a rascist pill popping goon...for sure....Dave Newhouse was a class act and will remain so....spend a few minutes with him and listen to him wax poetically about the likes of Marcel Cerdan and Edith Piaff and you will know he is a treasure...
ReplyDeleteI met Dave at a broadcasting seminar at the KGO building in 1993. The panel was at the time, KNBR program director Bob Agnew, KTVU sports director Mark Ibanez and Dave Newhouse. Guess who I chose to talk to after the Q&A session? Dave is a true CLASS act!
ReplyDeleteDave Newhouse worked at the Oakland Tribune for 47 years. Not "almost 40" years. He started out as a copy boy and worked his way from Cal beat writer to Tribune Columnist by 1979. He is "old school' by any definition. He comes from another era of Sports Writing, when the cigarettes and cigar smoke filled press boxes. He covered the 49ers at Kezar Stadium, The Oakland Oaks, The Oakland Seals, The renegade Raiders of the 60s, 70s, and 80s, Finley and Billy Ball...to Moneyball, et cetera. Good luck to you Dave.
ReplyDeleteI was a sportsphone 68 listener from the Ken Dito days so remember quite well Dito and when Newhouse took over. Sportsphone was pretty much the only 3 hours of sports on the radio so I was a regular listener most nights.
ReplyDeleteESPN was just starting with SportsCenter, but pre internet the only other option(era defined by the 49er glory years) was Ron Barr on KSFO or the Stardust line with Lee Pete from Las Vegas.
I always felt like Newhouse new a little about football, a little more about baseball and not much else.
During the run-up to the first NBA lottery (Ewing, frozen envelope, bent corner etc..)I remember a caller (frustrated by Dave's lack of knowledge) to his show asking Dave who was second choice if the Warriors did not get Ewing, his answer ... "ahhh Alarie?". I also remember his saying after that draft how lucky the Warriors were they got Mullen and not that stiff Karl Malone.
Throw in his shilling for the owners during the 82 baseball strike and I pretty much found him unlistenable over time so was glad he got booted.
Newhouse had that folksy style but I always thought he didn't study much or know very much about sports. At the time he was ousted for Ralph I was happy with the move. I've not read a Newhouse columnn since so can't say I missed him at all.
It's true...Dave's best sports were football, and then probably the olympic sports such as boxing and track and field. But he had great working relationships with many of the bay area sports icons of the last 40 years, and he was a true gentleman.
ReplyDeleteTop say that Dave didn't know sports is being a little ridiculous. How long did you read his columns? Did you just glance at them once or twice? Baseball wasn't his strength, but he got better at it because he had to.
When you write a daily column as he did in the 1980s and 90s, you have to know quite a bit, or at least pick up some knowledge from just being around the games. Dave was also well versed on bay area sports history, much more so than many of the current writers. Only guys such as Ratto, Purdy, and Monte Poole who have all been around here for well over 2 decades seem to know or care much about our rich bay area sports history.
One of the secrets to Dave's success was that he treated people well. Not just the people who could help him get ahead. I was lucky enough to get the chance to work with him for a spell at the Trib and you can't imagine having a guy you read for years treat you like a valued colleague. He really was, and remains, a role model for many young journalists. Saw him a few years back on a couple Cal road trips - and he was still the same, still gracious, never talked badly about anyone.
ReplyDeleteHe's one of the people I think of when I remember what my great aunt (also a scribe) once told me: "Newspaper people are the best kind of people."
I just ran by this blog. For all of the haters out there it must make you feel pretty good about yourself to spew such venom at legendary bay area sports media figure. I guess you weren't on the ballot for all of awards and accolades he received over his 50 years in sports journalism.
ReplyDeleteThe notion that he didn't know sports is absolutely absurd or he was lamb when asking the tough questions is an absolute joke . I guess you're a typical stat junkie who never strapped on pair spikes, cleats, or sneakers. Please don't be mad at Dave that you never made a team in your simplistic life.
Please don't kick your dog or cat over the holiday's.
Enjoy the book After the glory-Heismen. Nice to have a signed copy.
ReplyDeleteGood southern summer night reading.Always wishing you well.JKH