Al Tighe was a longtime KSTP sportscaster, announcer

Walter (Al) Tighe of Minneapolis, who was KSTP-TV's sports anchor during the 1960s, was also known for his quick and tireless play-by-play reporting.

Tighe, who left radio for KSTP-TV in 1952, died June 11 in Minneapolis. He was 84.

After graduating from South High School in Minneapolis in the early 1940s, he attended the University of Minnesota. He began his radio career in Rice Lake, Wis., later working at stations in North Dakota, Iowa, Missouri and Duluth.

After joining KSTP in 1952, he served as a general assignment sports reporter, covering everything from professional sports to sled dog races at the St. Paul Winter Carnival.

After KSTP's sportscaster, former Chicago Bear Dick Nesbitt, died of a heart attack while driving to Met Stadium in 1962, Tighe took over.

"He was very consistent, very reliable guy in everything he did," said Bob Ryan, a former KSTP newscaster. He called Tighe a "real gentleman."

"He was not a flash in the pan, no showboat," Ryan said. "He had a great memory for stats on players of all sports, and he did his homework."

In high school, the varsity baseball player got hit in the head with a baseball and suffered a detached retina, Ryan said. He regretted that he couldn't serve in the military during World War II because of the injury.

In a biography, KSTP touted Tighe "as one of the fastest and most accurate play-by-play men in broadcasting." He once broadcast 16 state tournament basketball games in five days for an Iowa radio network.

Tighe's son Terry, of Leonard, Mich., recalled a time when his dad, covering professional wrestling, looked under the ring to see a fellow with a ketchup bottle to be used for simulating blood. "He always got a kick out of that," said his son.

He was a strong supporter of Minnesota high school and amateur sports, and spent a lot of weekend air time rolling out scores from around Minnesota, said his son.

In 1970, he was fired as KSTP's sports director and took a job as an announcer for KMSP-TV.

Tony Parker of Lakeville, a former Twin Cities sportscaster, worked with him at KMSP. "You could take to the bank whatever he would say, whether it was sports, or social stuff," Parker said. "He felt an obligation to do the job straight for his viewers."

He retired from KMSP when he was 66.

He was an active volunteer at Lumen Christi Catholic Community in St. Paul.

During retirement, he had the "greatest time of his life," golfing and taking walks near Minnehaha Falls in south Minneapolis with his wife, his son said.

His wife of 52 years, Mary Ellen, died in 1998. In addition to his son, he is survived by five grandchildren.

Services have been held.