Longtime Dallas sports broadcaster Norm Hitzges announces retirement
DALLAS (CBSNewsTexas.com) – Longtime Dallas sports radio broadcaster Norm Hitzges announced he is retiring after a decades long career.
During his show, The Norm and D Invasion on 96.7/1310 The Ticket, Hitzges said his last day will be on Friday, June 23.
Hitzges recently celebrated his 48th anniversary of being continuously on the air talking sports in Dallas-Fort Worth.
Summer 1998. Before he ever played an NBA game. The first DFW radio appearance for @swish41 was with Norm HItzges. pic.twitter.com/3KCHsd80Iu
— 96.7 The Ticket (@dfwticket) January 5, 2022
"I'm so proud to be a part of what The Ticket has built—a ratings dominator in a fantastic sports city," Hitzges said. "I shall so miss the daily "rush" of being on the air. But after 48 consecutive years on the air in Dallas doing sports talk, it's time to move on to the next phase of my life, whatever that may be."
Hitzges began his career hosting the first full-time sports talk show during the morning drive in the U.S. over 30 years ago on Cumulus Dallas station KLIF. In 2000, he moved to Sportsradio 96.7/1310 The Ticket, where he currently hosts The Norm and D Invasion from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. with Donovan Lewis.
Hitzges has been honored by the Texas Radio Broadcasters Hall of Fame, the Dallas All Sports Association and the Texas Baseball Hall of Fame.
He also hosts the "Norm-A-Thon," a yearly day-long marathon broadcast to raise money for area homeless. In 22 years, the event has raised over $8.9 million for Austin Street Center, according to The Ticket.
"From the minute Norm hit the airwaves 36 years ago on KLIF and then the Ticket you could tell he was a special communicator," said Dan Bennett, regional vice president, Cumulus Media-Dallas/Houston. "He truly is one of Dallas Radio's great storytellers and he kept it going with Susquehanna and then Cumulus all these years. Not many have that kind of staying power. We wish him every happiness in his well-deserved retirement."