Dale Eugene Hansen (born August 2, 1948) is an American sportscaster….who is currently the weeknight sports anchor during the 6 pm and 10 pm newscasts on ABC’s Dallas affiliate WFAA. He also hosts Dale Hansen’s Sports Special on Sundays at 10:35 pm….which is consistently one of the highest-rated local programs in Dallas-Fort Worth area…..when his segment each night garners an audience of over 300,000 people. He also serves as the station’s Sports Director. Hansen began his career in Newton, Iowa as a radio disc jockey and operations manager at KCOB…..while covering the Newton Cardinals and the Newton Nite Hawks….then he went to Knoxville, Iowa to KNIA radio as News Director. After that he moved to Saint Cloud, Minnesota to KCLD radio. After that he got closer to his hometown of Logan, Iowa by working at a radio station he grew up listening to, KOIL in Omaha, Nebraska. He then took a job as a sports reporter at KMTV also in Omaha…..followed by his first job in Dallas at KDFW….which at the time was CBS’s Dallas affiliate. He left KDFW and joined WFAA in 1983…..where Hansen was at 10 pm, and legendary anchor Verne Lundquist was at 6 pm…. so WFAA had claimed them to be “Texas’ Best Sportcasters.”
Dale 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…..when the so-called “death penalty” was imposed on the school….as his reporting of the scandal garnered him a Peabody Award for distinguished journalism, a duPont-Columbia Award and several death threats.
In this NBC Sports special The Year 1986 In Sports Review….Dale Hansen provides video highlights of 1986 in auto racing…..featuring Alain Prost winning the Formula One World Championship…..Bobby Rahal winning the Indy 500…..Ivan Capelli winning the International Formula 3000…..Fabrizio Barbazza winning the American Racing Series…..Satoru Nakajima winning the Japanese Formula Two…..and Graham Watson winning the Australian Drivers Championships.
