Dick Vitale

Dick Vitale, American basketball player, coach, and sportscaster

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Born: June 9, 1939
Age in 2026: 87
Zodiac sign: Gemini
Birth year: 1939

About Dick Vitale

Richard John Vitale, also known as "Dickie V", is an American basketball sportscaster. A former head coach in the college and professional ranks, he is well known for his tenure since 1979 as a college basketball broadcaster for ESPN. He is known for catchphrases such as "This is awesome, baby!" and "diaper dandy", as well as his enthusiastic and colorful remarks during games. He has also written fourteen books and appeared in several films. Vitale had a 78–30 record during his tenure at Detroit, which included a 21-game winning streak during the 1977 season. Vitale took his first job as a coach at an elementary school in Garfield, New Jersey in 1958.

Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.

Dick Vitale timeline

1958Vitale took his first job as a coach at an elementary school in Garfield, New Jersey in 1958.
1977Vitale had a 78–30 record during his tenure at Detroit, which included a 21-game winning streak during the 1977 season.

The world when Dick Vitale was born

Dick Vitale was born in 1939. The year snapshot below places that birthday in its cultural and historical setting: the music and films people were following, the headlines shaping public life, and the everyday prices families encountered.

Culture in 1939

#1 song"Over the Rainbow" – Judy Garland
Top movieGone with the Wind
Best-selling bookThe Grapes of Wrath – John Steinbeck

Headlines and milestones

Major sports momentLou Gehrig delivers his "Luckiest Man" farewell speech
Top headlineGermany invades Poland — World War II begins
Technology milestoneFirst regular television broadcasts in the US (NBC)
Defining fadThe Wizard of Oz mania
Notable inventionNylon stockings
World population2.30 billion

United States snapshot

U.S. leaderFranklin D. Roosevelt
Sports championNew York Yankees (World Series)
U.S. population130.9M

1939 versus 2026

These figures put everyday life in Dick Vitale's birth year beside the site's latest United States snapshot.

Measure	1939	2026
Gas	$0.19	$3.45/gal
Average home	$5,200	$435,000
Average income	$2,900	$67,500
Minimum wage	$0.30	$7.25/hr (federal)
Movie ticket	$0.25	$11.95
Postage stamp	$0.03	$0.73
Population	130.9M	341 million

Sources and editorial standards

This profile combines a biographical source with structured birthday and historical context. Sources recorded for this profile: Wikipedia, NCAA Statistics. See our editorial policy for sourcing, corrections, and review standards.

Read the source biography on Wikipedia. Wikipedia text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.