Angelo Cataldi: Loud, Proud, and…Nerdy?
By David Jastrow
Loud. Obnoxious. Opinionated. These adjectives are often used by non-Philadelphians to describe the typical Philadelphia sports fan. Perhaps not surprisingly, they are also synonymous with legendary sports journalist and radio personality Angelo Cataldi.
But take a closer look. Passionate. Hardworking. Generous. These words describe the city’s fans and the man who has served as their commentator for more than 40 years. Cataldi describes this journey in his upcoming book Loud: How a Shy Nerd Turned Up the Volume in the Most Passionate Sports City in America.
Image from Google
When Cataldi began his career, he did not set out to be a sports radio personality. After graduating from Columbia University in 1977 with a master's degree in journalism, he was a reporter in Providence, R.I., before migrating to cover sports in Philadelphia for The Philadelphia Inquirer in 1983. A few years later, Cataldi joined WIP's morning show with ex-Eagles great, Tom Brookshier, and the rest was history. “In the end I had 33 years in a market where the people in Providence when I was younger would never, ever imagined that I would become this sports shock jock,” Cataldi says. “This guy who was yelling and screaming every day was not my personality at all in my growing up years. I was very quiet and studious.”
But over time, Cataldi realized he needed to adapt that persona to make a connection with listeners. That was a key factor in Cataldi realizing he wanted to write a book. When Cataldi started in radio, he was still that quiet guy from Providence. Over the following 33 years, Cataldi transformed into a different personality. “I created this persona as this loud, brash kind of person, and then over that period of time, it became who I was,” Cataldi explains. “I wasn't the person at the end of the 33 years that I was at the beginning. I was a lot more like the guy that I had created. The job completely changed who I was. That’s one of the things that I explore in the book.”
After more than three decades on the air, Cataldi called it a career in February 2023. Since then, Cataldi says he has grappled with who he is now - that quiet, reserved nerdy personality, or the louder, opinionated version of himself. “I am not positive about who I am,” Cataldi admits. “When you’re somebody for that long period of time and you’re identified that way and suddenly you stop doing that, it’s a process. I don’t really 100 percent know who I am right now.”
When he’s out in public, Cataldi says he can see himself reverting to his on-air personality, while at home, he is quiet and unassuming. Much like an athlete after their playing career has ended, Cataldi says he has faced a similar transformation. He has sought the help of a therapist to help guide that personal evolution. This transition from someone who spoke on the air every day to a more private member of the community has been interesting and sometimes challenging, according to Cataldi. The sports and media landscape itself has been evolving in Philadelphia. In addition to Cataldi’s retirement, local media icons including Hall of Fame sportswriter, Ray Didinger (who last participated in the Collingswood Book Festival to discuss his book in 2021), Action News anchor Jim Gardner, WMGK Morning Zoo deejay John DeBella, and fellow sports radio personality Mike Missanelli (who will be joining Cataldi in a panel discussion at this year’s Festival) have all moved on to new ventures after spending decades on the air.
“There is this incredible loyalty that Philadelphia has for people that keep us in our jobs for as long as we do,” Cataldi says, “This is not true in every city. The people of Philadelphia tend to embrace us and keep us part of their family. My timing couldn’t have been better. We had a great run.”
Now that Cataldi is retired, he is returning to his journalistic roots. Unlike some of his contemporaries, Cataldi says he does not envision himself returning to the airwaves, at least not on a regular basis. “I guess because I was a nerd myself, I never aspired to be a player, coach, or general manager, so I never cared one bit what they thought of what I was doing on the radio,” Cataldi says. “It never bothered me when they got upset. When I would rip into a player, and boy I would do it a lot, I never got in the car on the way home and thought ‘I hope that guy’s not upset.’ I was always geared to the audience. All the interview skills, that ability to raise hell when I had to, all of that came from the fact that they trained me not to worry about what the people were thinking about who you were writing or talking about. That was the biggest lesson that took me through my whole career.”
Angelo Cataldi will be discussing his new book Loud, coming out on November 28, 2023, on October 7, at the 21st annual Collingswood Book Festival, and will participate in a discussion with his friend (and sometimes rival) Mike Missanelli. The event is free, and we hope to see you there!
