Dale Hansen (born August 2, 1948) is an American sportscaster, currently the weeknight sports anchor during the 6 pm and 10 pm newscasts on ABC's Dallas affiliate WFAA-TV. He also hosts Dale Hansen's Sports Special on Sundays at 10:35 pm, consistently one of the highest-rated local programs in Dallas-Fort Worth. His segment each night garners an audience of over 300,000 people. He is a self-admitted "smart alec" and is widely considered controversial for constantly berating the Dallas Cowboys. Hansen is thought to be the most watched and most talked about sportscaster in the history of the Dallas television market.[1] He serves as the station's Sports Director.
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Hansen began his career in Newton, Iowa as a radio disc jockey and operations manager at KCOB, covering the Newton Cardinals. He then moved to Omaha, Nebraska to take a job as a sports reporter at KMTV. Hansen then took his first job in Dallas at KDFW-TV, which at the time was CBS's Dallas affiliate. He left KDFW and joined WFAA-TV in 1983.[2] Hansen was at 10 pm, and legendary anchor Verne Lundquist was at 6 pm, so WFAA had claimed them to be "Texas' Best Sportcasters."
Hansen made his reputation in 1986 when he and his producer, John Sparks, broke a story about a massive scandal involving payments to players on Southern Methodist University's football team. Hansen's reporting ultimately led to the NCAA canceling the Mustangs' 1987 season—the so-called "death penalty." His reporting of the scandal garnered him a Peabody Award for distinguished journalism, a duPont-Columbia Award, and several death threats.[2]
Since 1983, Hansen has had a segment during "Sports Special", the Sunday of the week before Christmas. He always has a tragic story of a child's death in the past year, and talks about it before playing a video of clips from the 1980s of kids in Dallas. At the end is young Hansen with his own children. The video is played to "Thank God for Kids" by The Oak Ridge Boys.[3] The segment is usually among the most-watched television segments of the year in the Dallas-Fort Worth Nielsen market.
Each week since 1988, Hansen introduces his scholar-athlete of the week, a high school senior or recent high school graduate who excels in sports as well as in the classroom. McDonald's then donates $250 (formerly $100) to the school in honor of the student.
Dale Hansen started in sports radio at KRLD 1080 AM in 1985 as the Dallas Cowboys color analyst, with Brad Sham as the play-by-play announcer. He served in this role until two games remained in the 1996 NFL season. A heated on-camera argument with coach Barry Switzer during 1994 training camp and subsequent friction between Hansen, Switzer and Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones contributed to the split. Babe Laufenberg took over his spot.[4]
Hansen joined KTCK 1310 AM ("The Ticket") in 1999 as a regular on its Dallas Cowboys post-game report after the games were broadcast on KLUV 98.7 FM. He also hosted a show from noon to 1 pm year-round, every Monday and another one-hour show on Fridays during the NFL season.
In May 2006, Hansen moved to KESN 103.3 FM (ESPN Radio's Dallas affiliate) from The Ticket, just as KTCK was named the new Dallas Cowboys flagship radio station. At KESN, he is currently the host of "The Hour of Hansen" weekday nights from 6–7 pm and also contributes to other programming, including the station's Cowboys pre and post-game shows.[5]
Hansen has won many awards in his career including: two-time Sportscaster of the Year by the Associated Press, three-time Texas Sportscaster of the Year by the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association, Best Sportscaster by the United Press International and Dallas Press Club, TV Personality of the Year by American Women in Radio and Television, and Best Investigative Reporter by the Iowa Associated Press.[2]
Since 1989, Hansen has been in charge of the Dale Hansen Golf Classic, which benefits the Texas Can! schools.[6]
In 1990, Hansen joined with the Dallas Can! schools. However, he and his The Hansen Foundation recently split from the 16-year partnership, as a result of lawsuits against each side totaling almost $700,000.[7]
Starting in 2007–2008, The Hansen Foundation will sponsor $100,000 of scholarships for University of North Texas students, with the money coming from the annual Dale Hansen Golf Classic.[8]
On July 10, 2010 Dale Hansen is bringing back his legendary backyard party to benefit Lou Gehrig's Disease (ALS) Research. www.DallasALS.org
Hansen was born in Logan, Iowa. He now lives in Waxahachie, Texas. He has a son, Eric, and a daughter, Terre.