Buddy Diliberto

Sport: Distinguished Service Award in Sports Journalism

Induction Year: 2005

University: Loyola

Became a sportswriter at The Times-Picayune while a college student at Loyola University. After Army service during the Korean Conflict, in which he received the Purple Heart for wounds while covering the fighting for Stars & Stripes, Diliberto returned to The Times-Picayune, eventually rising to become the paper’s daily sports columnist. In the mid-1960s, despite a slight speech impediment, Diliberto became a television commentator at WVUE-TV, and later went to WDSU-TV. The last years of his career were at WWL-AM where he hosted a daily show, often roasting – but sometimes toasting – the then usually pretty bad New Orleans Saints. Diliberto had a love/hate relationship with the Saints. He was the spark for the “Aints,” mocking the 1980 team which went 1-15, usually reported on television with a bag on his head, which fueled a fan craze. But when the Saints won their first playoff game in 2000, he was asked by the club to write an account of the season, “When the Saints Came Marching In.” After his death, Buddy D. was commonly referred to as the team’s patron saint. When the Saints won the 2010 Super Bowl, in an homage to long-suffering fans, The Times-Picayune ran an altered photo of Diliberto to celebrate the victory.