The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
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MARCH 2017 ■ 85 from Cincy's Big O (Oscar Robinson) to Carolina's Doug Moe. "Fact is, he has called from the bench to the floor just about every All-American whose sneakers squeaked across the Reyn- olds floor — hardwood or synthetic." He was also on the microphone when Red Terror basketball played at Thompson Gym on NC State's campus and at Ra- leigh's downtown municipal auditorium, the home of Everett Case's teams before Reynolds Coliseum was opened in 1949 and for two notable games at Reynolds' replacement, the Entertainment and Sports Arena/RBC Center/PNC Arena. He did the first game there in 1999, watched a banner go up to honor his life's work and came back one last time to do the player introductions during a 2010 game as the program celebrated its 100th season of bas- ketball. It always seemed, however, that his voice was most perfectly matched for Reynolds. The other arenas and media had different, more perfectly tuned, acoustics that didn't reverberate in the same ways. As is often the case, Dillon fell into his job with a stroke of good fortune and never left. As a mechanical engineering student with an interest in writing and broadcast- ing, Dillon was the sports editor of The Technician, NC State's student newspaper, in 1946 when Everett Case was hired to take over the basketball program. Case asked him to prepare a rudimentary media guide, and Dillon's passion for broad- casting earned an invitation from the coach to be behind the microphone at NC State home games. "Hearing his voice is like hearing the ghost of Everett Case," the late Frank Weedon, a long-time member of the ath- letic department at State, once said. Dillon was also Case's frequent chauffer, when the coach and his assistant Butter Anderson went out recruiting or to watch games played at Wake Forest, North Caro- lina or Duke. "We always had our seats at their gyms, and I would go by after practice to pick them up," Dillon explained in a 2004 in- terview. "One time, however, we got into a snowstorm in Chapel Hill, and the car slid off the road into a ditch. "He didn't let me drive in the snow any- more after that." For years, Dillon sat courtside with friends and foes alike. North Carolina coach Dean Smith befriended Dillon, and for years the two kidded each other about who would last longer. Dillon outlasted Smith on the court and in retirement, though both battled dementia that robbed them of the memories of those earlier pleasantries. Dillon was there for the three most emo- tional moments in Reynolds Coliseum: in 1965, when Case cut down the nets for the final time after a surprise ACC champion- ship; in 1974, when David Thompson re- turned from Rex Hospital after falling on the court at Reynolds in an NCAA second- round game against Pittsburgh; and in 1993, when Jim Valvano gave the Reynolds Coli- seum version of his "Never Give Up" speech before a game against Duke. Dillon was once fired by Weedon from broadcasting radio games in a loose net- work of stations broadcasting ACC games, after Weedon set up the more formal Wolf- pack Radio Network and selected Bill Jackson and Wally Ausley as the permanent voices of the Pack. Dillon never let Weedon live it down. And he was almost kicked out of a game once by official Lenny Wirtz for something he said on the microphone. And no, unlike most conversations that included Wirtz, Dillon uttered no profanity. "They had called eight straight fouls against State and none against Duke," Dil- lon said. "Finally, a foul was called on Duke, and Frank Weedon was standing behind me and said, 'And that's just the first one.' Then I said: 'And that's just the first one.' "Wirtz spun around, came over and said, 'Do that one more time and you are out of here.'" Dillon outlasted Wirtz, too. He sat comfortably in his chair for more than five decades, becoming a little less impartial and a little more comfortable as the years went by. He even traded in his red blazer for a nice red sweater, a la Les Robinson. He remained a loyal fan after his retire- ment, taking his seats on the lower level of the new arena as a fan. He stayed dedicated to his community through the Kiwanis Club and to the Edenton Street United Method- ist Church. He shared hours of Bible study with regulars and strangers, was a constant presence at the Hillsborough Street YMCA in his latter years and a championship bridge player. Dillon was buried at historic Oakwood Cemetery, where many Raleigh legends, including Valvano and Lorenzo Charles, spend eternity. He is survived by his wife Mildred, five children, 16 grandchildren and one great-grandchild. Memorials can be made in Dillon's name to The Doorstep Ministry at Edenton Street United Methodist Church at 228 W., Edenton St., Raleigh, 27603; The Raleigh Kiwanis Foundation, Inc., at PO Box 12, Raleigh, 27602; and the C.A. Dillon Jr. Scholarship, at the NC State Foundation, Campus Box 7016, Raleigh, 27695-7016. ■ Tim Peeler is a regular contributor to The Wolfpacker. You may contact him at tmpeeler@ncsu.edu. For 53 years, in four different buildings, Dillon was almost always behind the public address mike for the Wolfpack. PHOTO COURTESY NC STATE MEDIA RELATIONS