Art Dlugach, a longtime sports producer for KPIX in San Francisco, died Thursday morning in Texas, surrounded by his household after a short sickness. He was 82.
The Mississippi-born Dlugach started his broadcast profession in Texas with stints in Waco and Dallas earlier than coming to KPIX in 1969 as a movie editor. He grew to become a sports producer in 1974, working with famend former professional soccer participant and sports broadcaster Wayne Walker.
His colleague at KPIX and former San Francisco Chronicle sports author Steve Kroner referred to as Dlugach “the Godfather of Bay Area sports producers.”
“Wayne was eminently respected and admired, due at least in part to Art’s dedication to putting on informative and entertaining sportscasts,” wrote Kroner in a press release to KPIX.
Former KPIX reporter Mike Hegedus added, “As good as Wayne Walker was as a sports anchor, and as many contacts that Wayne had, he would not have been Wayne Walker the sportscaster without Artie Dlugach.”
Steve Kroner / Dlugach household picture 
In addition to teaming up with Walker, Dlugach labored with different Bay Area sportscasters comparable to Jan Hutchins, Fred McLeod, Joe Fonzi, Rick Quan, Doug Murphy, and NFL Hall of Fame quarterback Dan Fouts.
“I enjoyed working with him,” stated Fouts by cellphone. “His enthusiasm and his passion for sports were unmatched.”
“Artie,” as he was identified in the KPIX newsroom, left an indelible impression on anybody who labored with him. He was identified for his frequent yelling, a dose of mayhem, and a give attention to perfection – all wrapped up in sweetness.
KPIX producer Stephanie John referred to as Dlugach “a firecracker.”
“When I was producing a live newscast, Artie would run into the control room with seconds to spare before the sportscast, yelling and waving his arms the whole time, to get exactly what he wanted on air,” mused John with amusing.
But that sportscast, she added, was at all times nice as a result of of it.
Former information anchor Wendy Tokuda remembered how a lot enjoyable it was to work with Dlugach.
“When I first started at PIX, they put me in the sports department and on a regular basis, Artie’s head would pop up over the partition that separated our desks, and there would be this explosion of yelling, he would then “harrumph” and disappear,” she recounted.
Dlugach left KPIX in 1998. He moved again to Texas to be close to his household, the place he started what he referred to as his dream job, doing radio play-by-play for the Llano Yellow Jackets, a highschool soccer crew. He additionally grew to become a sportswriter for the Llano News and the Horseshoe Bay Beacon.
Dlugach was the proud father of two daughters April and Kim, and loving grandfather of 4 grandchildren.