SoutheasternOhioPreps.com

This is actually outside the boys basketball forum, but thought I would post it here to allow the most people to see it

For those who did not already hear this news, widely known sportscaster and writer Dave Diles passed away Dec. 26
at his home in the Athens area after an extended illness. He was 78 years old. Diles was a native of Middleport then
had a widespread career including the Associiated Press, a TV station in Detroi and ABC-TV before returning to
Souheastern Ohio. He was also the author of some great books about famous sports personalitites. A memorial
service was held in Athens Saturday. Dave touched many lives. I offered my own tribute to Dave which appeared
in The Athens Messenger on Sunday. Mark Martin of WCHS-TV in Charleston also had a nice tribute to Dave
which can be viewed on the WCHS-TV website and include Dave Diles when you call up the website.

Growing up in Logan several years ago, every fall Saturday afternoon I tuned in the
"Prudential College Football Scoreboard" show. Dave Diles was outstanding..
Truly a giant in sportscasting......

Dave got his start in journalism while still in high school at Middleport.

The late Gallipolis Tribune Publisher Harold W. Wetherholt hired Dave as a correspondent on the Tribune staff around 1947.

Besides covering social items in and around the Bend Area, Dave also covered Southeastern Ohio Athletic League sports.

In 1948, when Middleport and Gallipolis battled for the SEOAL lead during football season, Dave wrote several columns on the Blue Devils and Yellow Jackets.

Gallipolis went on to blank Don Payne and company 20-0, then finished the season with its 19th straight win and second straight SEOAL crown following an 86-0 victory over the Nelsonville Greyhounds.

The following Monday after that GAHS blow out, Dave was critical of the GAHS coaching staff for running up the huge score against NHS.

Following high school, Dave attended Ohio University. He never played sports in high school, but following graduation from Middleport, he became a pitcher for the old Twins Cities baseball team in the Ohio Valley Association and was an outstanding hurler for the bend squad.
Later, Dave joined the Associated Press staff. He then moved to Detroit with the AP, and later began his outstanding TV career.

After retirement, Dave moved back to southern Ohio where he sponsored numerous golf functions in the Bend Area. One of his famous guests was "Sparky" from the old Our Gang movies.

As Sportsfolio said earlier, he authored several outstanding sports books and when a New York TV outfit did a story on the great Clarence (Bevo) Francis of Rio Grande College, they used Dave for several comments. Dave sent out the AP story to the nation's newspapers when Bevo scored 116 points in a game against Hillsdale, Mich, during the 1952-53 campaign.

Dave wasn't the only Meigs native with the main wire services in Columbus at that time. Bob Grimm, Racine, also an outstanding pitcher in the OVA, was with United Press several years. Southern Ohio really got good sports coverage during those years.