Q&A with Dave Calabro, WTHR-TV Channel 13 sports director

On 1990s sitcom “The Larry Sanders Show,” the fictional talk show host portrayed by Garry Shandling is teased when he talks about retirement. “You’re like a figure out of Greek mythology,” his producer says, “half man, half desk!”

It’s tempting to describe Indianapolis sports broadcaster Dave Calabro as a similar creature, one who’s half man and half microphone. Talking on air is the only job he’s ever had, starting at Ben Davis High School radio station WBDG and winding through graveyard shifts at WIBC and then TV gigs at an NBC affiliate in Fort Wayne and an ABC affiliate in Dayton, Ohio.

In December, Calabro will retire as sports director at WTHR-TV Channel 13 and end a 32-year run at the station. The Butler University alum isn’t giving up his other job, serving as track announcer at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Calabro will continue to inform in-person Indy 500 fans when their favorite driver makes a daring pass, but his days of professionally keeping tabs on the Indianapolis Colts and Indiana Pacers are coming to an end.

And despite the city’s knack for attracting major sporting events, Calabro said he’s not worried about missing the next big thing.

“I’ve been on all the carnival rides,” he said. “I’ve had every experience. I was talking to my family about this. When you go down a list of things I’ve been able to do, it’s absurd how blessed I’ve been.”

Beyond reporting on every game that’s mattered to Indianapolis sports fans since 1992, Calabro shadowed Peyton Manning for three days in New York when the quarterback hosted “Saturday Night Live” in 2007. Calabro interviewed musician George Harrison when the Beatle’s friend, Emerson Fittipaldi, won a race in Phoenix in 1994.

Calabro also worked with IMS icon Tom Carnegie, initially as a WRTV-TV Channel 6 intern when Carnegie led the station’s sports department. Carnegie’s tenure as Indy 500 track announcer spanned 1946 until his retirement in 2006. Calabro, a 2022 Indiana Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association Hall of Fame inductee, was hired by IMS in 1985.

“He went from mentor to co-worker to friend to like a family member,” Calabro said of Carnegie, who died in 2011 at age 91.

A video posted to social media in June served as Calabro’s announcement of his plans to retire at age 62.

“It’s my choice,” he said, noting that his contract extended beyond 2024. “It’s time to pass the microphone on here at Channel 13.”

Calabro talked with IBJ about growing up with a fellow sports broadcaster, elevating the culture of high school football and speaking to an in-person audience of 300,000 each May.

Spending 32 years at one station is an impressive run. Any unpredictable thing could have derailed that, and unpredictable things derail people all the time. What do you credit for your longevity at Channel 13?

This is my home, and I always wanted to have an impact in broadcasting because I grew up in the industry. I watched a lot of people. I emulated some people, and I didn’t emulate some people. I feel totally blessed. Being in the same market for 32 years makes me a dinosaur. But this fits for me. This is who I am. I’ve had other opportunities through the years to do bigger, better, faster, quicker, neater things, and I just always felt compelled to stay here and do this. This is an amazing sports market, so to be the lead sports guy at the No. 1 station and to be a part of that success story has been a lot of fun.

You have said you come from “a family of 900 educators and two sports broadcasters.” Your oldest brother, Kevin, built a distinguished career calling play-by-play for professional sports teams in Portland and Seattle. Was sports broadcasting always the plan for the two of you?

We would always listen to radio. We would like to drive at night on family vacations because you could get all the clear-channel stations and hear different voices. When our family went to Pacers ABA games at the Coliseum, my brothers and I would sit in the rafters and ask, “At halftime, can we go down and bug the people on press row?” I would be the guy barking, “Hey, Mr. Jerry Baker.” We’d chat with them, and they handed us stats or whatever. I was always enamored with the guys who got to do this for a living.

Your dedication to coverage of high school athletics speaks for itself. What’s the backstory of Operation Football?

When I was in Dayton, we covered high school football and tried to figure out how to make that look different. I was in a meeting one day, and a guy named Dave Roberts—who’s now at ESPN—coined the phrase “Operation Football.” I thought, “That has a good ring to it.” Everything was built around that. It was pretty successful there. When I came to Indianapolis, I saw that everybody was doing this traditional dog-and-pony show of Friday night highlights. I thought, “Man, we can do so much more with this.” I remembered being at Ben Davis as a student, when it was all about community and everybody getting together. We would make signs to get the attention of a station’s photographers who came out to shoot highlights. We were going to show them we were the rowdiest and had the best student body.

So when I came to work in Indianapolis, I got an old typewriter and made this whole Operation Football thing: What if we did the band of the week? Then we built a late show around the idea of having cheerleaders in the studio, making it interactive and fun but more community-related. Then we added in the chopper. We were the first to fly. I said, “Why don’t I fly around in the helicopter? We’ll drop into these schools that don’t normally get attention and give them some love.” It worked. I did that for 28 years in a helicopter. I think that’s really how we built that brand.

You just touched on something that seems important: What could outweigh local content when you’re trying to connect with local viewers?

My whole goal has just been to connect with people. My parents taught me that we’re all the same. My dad was a principal, and he treated everybody the same. Whether it was Peyton Manning or four U.S. presidents or anyone I’ve had a moment with, that’s how I’ve approached people. I think it resonated. One day I may be hanging out with Peyton Manning and the next I’m at a football game in a cornfield, having a hot dog.

Let’s move to professional sports for this question: What’s the deal with the Colts?

I think Anthony Richardson has a ton of talent. Everybody keeps forgetting that this kid is 22 and hasn’t played much. It’s going to take some time. It’s a patience game. They’re playing the long game here.

Which basketball team that plays at Gainbridge Fieldhouse will be the next to win a league championship?

That’s a really good question. I’m going to go with Caitlin Clark and the Fever. I think they are a couple of players away from really being dangerous. Not that the Pacers aren’t, but the NBA right now, especially the Western Conference, is so strong.

Let’s end with something near and dear to your heart. On Indy 500 race day, what’s it like to be the communicator to 300,000 people in the stands?

It’s like being on a high wire across the Grand Canyon. But it’s truly an honor. I also feel like I didn’t just walk in the door. I started as an infield knucklehead having fun. Yes, I jumped the fence in 1977 to high-five A.J. Foyt. I remember having a moment when I was parking cars on 16th Street with some buddies for the 1980 race. The race started, and I was on the outside watching. I thought, “I have to do something here. I want to be a part of this.”

To answer your question, it’s a gas to walk in there on race day. You look to your left and right and say, “This is the world’s largest sporting event.” But I don’t approach it that way. I usually pick out someone across the way, and I’m communicating to him. I can tell he’s hearing what I’m saying. And now the people are standing up. I think, “OK, they’re feeling the energy here.”•