Courtesy Sunday Gazette Mail

(July 13, 2009) He's the father of sports talk radio in West Virginia. A veteran announcer and former station manager for WCHS-AM and WQBE-AM, he pioneered the radio call-in concept in West Virginia.

After more than 40 years in broadcasting, his name is a household word in West Virginia sports. Name it; he's covered it: Charleston Charlies and Wheelers baseball. University of Charleston football and basketball. Marshall football and basketball. West Virginia State football and basketball. Gunners basketball. Golden Gloves boxing. Charleston Distance Run. And hundreds of high school football and basketball games.

A Milton native, John Dickensheets enrolled in the University of Cincinnati to be close to his beloved Cincinnati Reds. Torn between sports and politics, he earned an all-purpose degree in political science, then plunged into broadcasting with the same passion he gave to Reds baseball.

He doesn't move or talk as fast as he used to -- signs of Parkinson's disease and remnants of a major stroke. But illness hasn't touched a mind brimming with sports memories.

Eternally upbeat, he counts his blessings, most especially the ability to continue his vanguard nightly talk show.

"I was born in Big Stick, Raleigh County, on Feb. 22, either in 1940 or 1941. We're not sure, because my birth certificate was lost. I was adopted by Byron and Jessie Dickensheets on Dec. 24 of the next year.

"I grew up in Milton. I had very strict parents. We went to church twice every Sunday and every Wednesday night. My father was organist for the Milton Presbyterian Church and the ruling elder. He was one of the first three employees of Blenko Glass.

"I never went to the first grade. Since my birth certificate was lost, they couldn't put me in school. My mother taught me at home. She was a teacher. She went to Duke University 10 straight summers to get her degree. She and my father met when my dad went to put cathedral windows from Blenko in the chapel at Duke.

"I wanted to be a lawyer. I probably love politics more than sports. I'm a Republican. I ran for House of Delegates in Cabell County and came within a few votes of winning. What a disaster that would have been! When we first had the talk show, they gave me two hours a night, and I did politics for one hour and sports the second hour.

"I was an average athlete. My dad built a shortwave radio, and he and I listened to ballgames from all over the country. In the 1950s, we got the Sunday New York Times delivered to Milton every Monday, and I read the sports section. My dad took me to Nick's News and Card Shop in Huntington every Saturday and bought me a sports magazine that I read cover to cover.

"I went to the University of Cincinnati so I could be near the Cincinnati Reds. The YMCA of Huntington had excursions to the Reds games. That's how I saw my first ballgame at Crosley Field. That's when I knew I wanted to be in sports. I wasn't good enough to play, but I could make it with my mouth.

"I majored in political science and was a gofer for the Nixon campaign in Cincinnati. They sent me to pick up Mr. Nixon. Imagine a little 19-year-old from Milton, W.Va., in a room with Nixon, Herbert Brownell and Henry Cabot Lodge. Mr. Nixon said, 'Get this young man a drink.' When I told him I wasn't old enough to drink, he said, 'Get this man three or four Cokes.'

"I was Mr. Bearcat, the Cincinnati mascot, for two years. They won the NCAA championship both years.

"I couldn't get in law school; my grades weren't good enough. I got a job in sales at WCHS Radio, working with my mentors, Joe Farris and Ernie Saunders. I carried equipment for them and, at halftime, they let me update the stats on the air. As they kind of retired, I took their place in the announcing. I liked being on the air. That's part of being the egotistical person that I am. I did the Sports Page of the Air for 10 years, over 1,000 times.

"I started doing a talk show, giving scores and information about things around here. I've done 1,240 of them. I stole the idea from stations in Cincinnati and Cleveland. Now there's a sports talk show statewide, but we did the first one here in Charleston. I consider myself the godfather of sports talk.

"The first shows were from the Top of the Inn. Then I got the idea of doing the Fifth Quarter from the Fifth Quarter. It was mainly Dick Marino, one of the WCHS announcers, and [Gazette sports editor] Shorty Hardman. When Shorty got sick, Danny Wells took his place and Chuck Landon filled in. Danny is still with me and has been very loyal to the show.

"One of the best times was when Pete Rose was on with his girlfriend and every man at WCHS had to come down and see the woman he brought with him. She was gorgeous. Team Chevrolet brought him to town. I liked him.

"The one person I did not like was Bob Feller. All he wanted do was talk about Bob Feller. He was just an egotistical maniac -- kind of like me.

"When the Charlies [baseball team] came back to town, they were looking for a PA announcer. Ernie and Joe were up in age and didn't want to do it. I was young and single, and they recommended me. On Carbide night and CAMC night, we would get 6,000 to 8,000 people.

"One night, they asked if I would take care of Mickey Mantle. He was doing Bonanza commercials in Huntington. I got this knock on my door in Milton. I looked out and Mickey Mantle was peeing in my front yard. This man stepped from behind a tree and said, 'Hi, John. How are you doing?' I said, 'Just fine, Mr. Mantle.' They were a little inebriated, so they had me take them to Charleston.

"Satchel Paige came in to appear at Watt Powell Park. I got a call from him about 15 minutes before the game. He said, 'Mr. Dickensheets, I was to get a fifth of Jack Daniel's and a fifth of vodka, and it was not in my room when I got here.' I had to take care of that.

"The most unusual night at the ballpark was the night I got my nose broken by a fan. In the bottom of the ninth inning, Charlie Howard made a catch to save the game for the Charlies, but the umpire ruled that it was not a good catch. They sent me to the umpires' room, because a bunch of fans were milling around. I told them to leave. It was 25-cent beer night. Next thing I know, this guy knocked me to the ground, and I had a broken nose.

"He asked me not to sue him. He was studying to be a minister and didn't want anyone to know he got drunk and punched a guy at the ballpark.

"We used to give ponies away on Pony Night. One of my jobs was to pull out the winning ticket. It would take us two to three hours to give those ponies away. I'm sure husbands and fathers would pull out the winning ticket and say they didn't win. They didn't want to mess with a pony.

"When I announced for the Charlies and Wheelers, 'Aqualung,' also known as Bill Dunn the bum, would come to all the games and stand up by the railroad tracks. We became very close friends. He was a great baseball fan. We had a contest to pick the colors for new uniforms. I found a card on my desk signed by Bill Dunn saying that the colors should be gray and black.

"One Christmas, he gave me candy. He brought it to my office. I used to have a convertible. I parked it across from the stadium. Many a night, at the end of the game, I'd come to get in my car and who was in the back seat but Bill. He'd say, 'Can you take me downtown?'

"I was general manager of WCHS when they were sold, and I was out the door. I went to Bristol Broadcasting and started doing the talk show five days a week.

"The very first Distance Run, they asked if I would drive my convertible as a pace car. Jesse Owens was the honoree. We drove through the hills of Charleston. They told me go real slow. I felt this pounding on my rear fender. It was the lead runner, Jeff Galloway. He said, 'Speed this thing up. I've got to go faster.'

"The next year, we broadcast the Distance Run. I have broadcast every race. The first two or three years, we would have 1,500 to 2,000 people. I'm in a car right in front of them. The gun goes off, and here comes 1,500 people racing toward you. It's unbelievable to see that.

"I was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease five years ago. It started with my hands shaking. I have been extremely lucky. I do not shake like Muhammad Ali and Michael J. Fox. Medicine keeps it under control. Because of my wife and my son and Bristol Broadcasting, I have been able to pretty much keep up with what I used to do.

"A few years ago, I fell and broke both shoulders and I was immobile for a period. And I had a massive stroke. The doctor told Janet I was lucky to walk out of the hospital. The stroke made it so I can't drive. That is the biggest problem I have. If I could drive, I would be a happy man.

"I regret there's not a John Byron Dickensheets. I made up a name in case I ever had a son. But I do have Janet's son, Joshua. He's 27. Janet and I got married in 1989.

"My life has been unbelievably interesting. I love my life. I get to come to this radio station every night and do my show. That's what I look forward to. And seeing my granddaughter and having Janet take me on my sales calls."

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