Dale Arnold
Dale Everett Arnold (born March 27, 1956) is a New England sportscaster. He hosts Boston Bruins broadcasts on NESN and co-hosted talk radio shows on WEEI until his retirement from radio on March 12, 2021, announced the day before. He was the Bruins' play-by-play announcer on NESN and has called Boston College Eagles football. He is the only person to have done play-by-play broadcasts for all five of the Boston area's major professional sports franchises.[1]
Dale Arnold | |
|---|---|
| Born | March 27, 1956 |
| Education | Bowdoin College |
| Spouse | Susan Arnold |
| Children | 1 son, 2 daughters |
| Sports commentary career | |
| Team(s) | Boston Bruins, Boston Celtics, Boston Red Sox, New England Patriots, New England Revolution, Boston College Eagles football |
| Genre(s) | Anchoring pregame, intermission and postgame coverage |
| Sports | Hockey, Football, Baseball, Basketball, Soccer, and Wrestling |
Career
A Bowdoin College alumnus, Arnold began calling games for the school teams while a student there in the mid-1970s. In 1979, he succeeded Mike Emrick as the voice of the Maine Mariners. He joined the New Jersey Devils with Doc Emrick as their radio announcer in 1986, before returning to New England two years later. Arnold called New England Patriots games from 1988–90 and provided play-by-play coverage for Bruins home games from 1995–2007. In July 2007, he was replaced by former ESPN sportscaster Jack Edwards as the Bruins' play-by-play telecaster.[2][3]
Arnold has been with WEEI radio since its inception in 1991 at 590 kHz, then as Sportsradio 850, then moving to WEEI-FM with other locally produced programs. He first hosted a late-morning show from 10 AM to 1 PM, before being teamed up with Eddie Andelman on a show called The A-Team. After Andelman's departure from WEEI in 2001, Arnold was paired with former television sportscaster Bob Neumeier on the Dale & Neumy Show. After Neumeier left the station in 2005, Arnold paired with former Boston Globe columnist Michael Holley on The Dale & Holley Show from 10 AM to 2 PM. On February 11, 2008, Entercom put Arnold on the four-person Boston Red Sox radio broadcast team, working with Joe Castiglione when Dave O'Brien was on ESPN.[4] In February 2011, WEEI shifted Arnold to weekend duty while Holley became co-host of the Big Show during afternoon drive time.[5] Arnold subsequently hosted a Sunday morning talk show on WEEI with Steve Buckley. In the 2011–12 season, Arnold returned to NESN as the in-studio host for Bruins broadcasts, anchoring pregame, intermission and postgame coverage.[6] On April 1, 2014, WEEI-FM relaunched The Dale & Holley Show from 2-6 PM. Arnold worked without a contract but, after the show's Nielsen ratings improved 59 percent,[7] he was given a multi-year contract in January 2015.[8] From November 2014 to November 2016, Jerry Thornton of Barstool Sports was added as the third host and comedian. He would later return to Barstool Sports full-time. Veteran radio host Rich Keefe of WBZ-FM and #DORK Podcast was hired to replace Thornton. Daily and weekly guests of The Dale & Holley with Keefe Show included Terry Francona, Mike Milbury, Bill Belichick, Michael Irvin, Peter King, Patrick Chung, Matthew Slater, Dont'a Hightower, Vince Wilfork, Chris Mannix, Jackie MacMullan, Trent Dilfer, and Pierre McGuire.[citation needed]
On February 28, 2018, the show was renamed The Dale & Keefe Show after longtime co-host Michael Holley announced at the 5 o'clock hour that he would be leaving WEEI immediately after the show to pursue a full-time television position with NBC Sports Boston. It was an emotional time for Arnold and Holley, having spent 10 years together as radio partners and best friends on and off the air. Holley is a close family friend of the Arnold family and attended Dale's son Taylor's wedding in New Orleans in October 2015. On August 13, 2018, WEEI shook up their lineup, moving The Dale & Keefe Show to the midday slot, and moving the midday show, Ordway, Merloni, and Fauria, featuring hosts Glenn Ordway, Lou Merloni, and Christian Fauria, to the afternoon drive time slot.
Arnold's voice can be heard during several NFL Top 10 and A Football Life documentaries on the NFL Network.
Arnold announced on March 11, 2021, that the following day's broadcast, on March 12, 2021, would be his last. Arnold worked nearly 30 years at WEEI,but would continue hosting Bruins broadcasts, part time.[9]
Miscellanea
Arnold's most famous[according to whom?] line as a play-by-play announcer came in a 1988 game at Sullivan Stadium between the Patriots and the Indianapolis Colts when Doug Flutie ran in the winning touchdown in the final 30 seconds; the crowd erupted, and Arnold described the scene as "This place has gone icky balooky!"
Personal life
Arnold lives in Bellingham, Massachusetts, with his wife, Susan. They have three children: Taylor, Alysha and Brianna. Arnold grew up in Maine and Minnesota prior to attending Bowdoin College.[citation needed] His son, Taylor Arnold, is a professor at University of Richmond.[10]
Awards and recognition
Arnold is a three-time Regional Emmy Award winner.[citation needed]
References
- ^ "Dale Arnold". WEEI. Radio.com. Retrieved January 19, 2020.
- ^ . NESN / Boston.com. Archived from the original on February 23, 2005. Retrieved March 1, 2007.
- ^ Fluto Shinzawa (July 7, 2007). "Edwards gets all calls on NESN: Arnold bumped off home games". Boston Globe. Retrieved July 7, 2007.
- ^ Eric Wilbur. "Radio team announced". Boston Globe. Retrieved June 7, 2007.
- ^ . WEEI. Archived from the original on October 21, 2007. Retrieved June 7, 2007.
- ^ Ryan Durling. "Dale Arnold to replace Kathryn Tappen at NESN". Bostinnovation. Retrieved September 30, 2011.[permanent dead link]
- ^ Press release (January 15, 2015). . WEEI. Archived from the original on January 19, 2015. Retrieved January 17, 2015.
- ^ Chad Finn. "Dale Arnold Reaches Multi-Year Deal to Remain in Afternoon Drive on WEEI". boston.com. Retrieved January 17, 2015.
- ^ Chad Finn (March 11, 2021). "Longtime presence Dale Arnold announces retirement from WEEI". boston.com. Retrieved March 12, 2021.
- ^ "UR Statistics Professor Taylor Arnold Receives International Fellowship for Research on How Language Changes Over Time". University of Richmond – Newsroom. January 17, 2019. from the original on September 29, 2021. Retrieved September 29, 2021.
External links
- WEEI Dale & Keefe
- WEEI Audio Vault: Dale & Holley