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travacado's thoughts
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Saturday, January 08, 2005
Buddy D. dies of heart attack
Bernard "Buddy" Diliberto, the beloved and bombastic New Orleans sports commenator, died late Friday of a massive heart attack at his home in Metairie, according to his son. He was 73.
Diliberto's career included stints at the Times-Picayune and local television, but it was on radio that he built a legendary career as a popular sports talk commenator on 870-AM. Diliberto, who was the original public address announcer for the New Orleans Saints, focused his shows mostly on the team and was famous for his banter with fans who called in.
Diliberto did not host his show Friday afternoon.
"He was not feeling well the last couple of days, that's why he did not work tonight," his son Mike Dilberto said. "A little after 8 p.m., he passed out at his home and couldn't be revived."
Buddy Diliberto was pronounced dead at 9:27 p.m. at Ochsner Hospital in Jefferson, according to a spokesperson for the Jefferson Parish coroner.
Diliberto amused listeners with his regular malapropisms, such as his referring to former Saints quarterback Kenny "The Snake" Stabler as "Steak Snabler," calling Saints receiver Donté Stallworth, "Donte Stallpepper," and uttering "torn lee nigaments" instead of torn knee ligaments. That on top of his heavy lisp and sometimes mangled speech mystified non-New Orleanians who heard him on the air, but only further endeared him to his loyal fans.
"We used to tell him he had whiplash of the tongue," said longtime Times-Picayune sports writer Peter Barrouquere, who replaced Diliberto in 1966 when Diliberto left to become sports director at WVUE-TV.
Diliberto represented the hardcore sports fan in New Orleans, and his passion for the Saints was matched only by his frustration with the franchise's perennial losing ways -- which he displayed in inimitable style. It was Dilberto who was the original "baghead," going on the air with a brown paper bag over his head in the midst of a 1-15 Saints season in 1980. When the Saints got their lone victory that year, Diliberto burned the bag on air.
Another time, during a Saints' dry spell, he did his sports report standing in front of a cemetery, suggesting that the Saints played like cadavers.
With his work in newspapers, television and radio, Diliberto "touched all the bases" said Times-Picayune columnist Peter Finney, who worked at the paper with Diliberto and was a longtime friend. "He was a New Orleans original. He spoke his mind. He was a true sports fan. Lived for sports."
Joe Scheuermann, Delgado's baseball coach and another longtime friend of Diliberto's, said, "He was a gentle, kindhearted person as you'd want to meet -- off the radio."
On air, Diliberto wasn't gentle, blistering Saints players, coaches, front-office executives, owners and even his own callers -- labeling as "squirrels" those he considered the most illogical. He even ripped himself for campaigning that the Saints hire Mike Ditka after Ditka coached the team for three forgettable seasons.
Diliberto got his start as a sports writer at The Times-Picayune while attending Loyola in 1950 and was a lead columnist when he left in 1966 to take his first job in television as sports director at WVUE-TV. He moved to WDSU-TV in 1980.
In 1991, he began working for WWL radio, where he started hosting a sports talk show. He was known for his colorful style and New Orleans colloquialisms. Despite his sometimes off-beat personna on the air, he was regarded as one of the top sports authorities in the region.
He was named Sportscaster of the Year in Louisiana 13 times.
For years, Diliberto promised to wear a dress if the Saints reached the Super Bowl, but often remarked he doubted it would happen in his lifetime.
"It's too bad he will not get to see the Saints make it to the Super Bowl," Mike Diliberto said. "We loved him very much and we will miss him, as well as the sports fans of New Orleans."
Buddy Diliberto was an Army veteran and served as a as a war correspondent in Korea. He was wounded and earned a purple heart.
Diliberto is survived by his wife, Peggy; one brother, Joseph; and four children -- Chris, Mike, Katie, and Debbie. Funeral arrangements are pending.
Courtesy of The (New Orleans) Times-Picayune
TIDAL 11:18 PM
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