Richard “Dick” Chase Jr. (February 3, 1941 – September 29, 2022) was a Colorado Springs broadcaster, program director, sports announcer and educator whose career connected military broadcasting, local radio, professional baseball and the training of a later generation of media professionals.
Military broadcasting career
Chase was born in Glendale, California, in 1941. He served for 20 years in the United States Air Force as a radio and television broadcast specialist, with assignments that took him and his family to Spain, Italy, Alaska and several locations across the United States. After retiring from the Air Force in 1980, he settled with his family in Colorado Springs and began a civilian broadcasting career.
Colorado Springs radio
By 1982, Chase was working afternoon drive at KRDO-AM in Colorado Springs. Radio & Records reported in July 1982 that he had been promoted from the PM-drive shift to Program Director. The 1983 Broadcasting Yearbook likewise listed Chase as program director of KRDO-AM 1240 under Pikes Peak Broadcasting.
By 1984, Chase had moved to KSSS-AM 740, where the Broadcasting Yearbook identified him as Program Director of the modern-country station. Contemporary country-radio directories also list him among the KSSS management/programming staff. Former KSSS morning host Tony Lynn recalls Chase later workingmiddays during Lynn’s 1984–1990 tenure, reflecting the station’s evolving staff structure during the decade.
Colorado Springs Sky Sox
Chase became especially familiar to Colorado Springs baseball listeners as part of the radio team for the Triple-A Colorado Springs Sky Sox. Baseball broadcast directories from the 1990s and early 2000s list Dick Chase and Dan Karcher together on Sky Sox radio broadcasts, including games carried on KRDO and, during portions of the 1990s, KSSS and KKPC.
His work in the booth became part of the institutional memory of Pacific Coast League broadcasting. In 2020, Minor League Baseball described Dan Karcher and Dick Chase as “PCL broadcasting legends” while recalling broadcaster Sean Aronson’s 2000 internship with the Sky Sox. Chase remained associated with the Sky Sox booth into the 2000s; an April 2008 Gazette report noted that Ira Liebman had joined Karcher in the radio booth, replacing Chase as color commentator.
Education and mentoring
Chase also taught radio and television at Pikes Peak Community College. The college’s 2004–05 catalog lists Dick Chase and Sharon Hogg with the Radio, Television program, and former students later credited Chase as one of the instructors who helped prepare them for professional media careers. His obituary also notes work as an educator at Pikes Peak Community College and Colorado Springs School District 20.
Legacy
Chase’s career in Colorado Springs reached well beyond a single station or job title. He brought two decades of military broadcast experience into local commercial radio, programmed major Colorado Springs stations, called professional baseball, and then passed that experience along to students entering radio and television. His long association with the Sky Sox made his voice part of Colorado Springs baseball culture, while his teaching extended his influence into the careers of broadcasters and production professionals who followed him.
Chase died September 29, 2022, at age 81. His obituary remembered his lifelong devotion to baseball, particularly the Boston Red Sox, and his impact on sports fans, students, coworkers, family and friends.
Sources
- Chapel of the Chimes Mortuary / Dignity Memorial — Richard Chase obituary
- Radio & Records, July 30, 1982 — Chase promoted from KRDO PM drive to Program Director
- Broadcasting Yearbook 1983 — KRDO-AM staff listing
- Broadcasting Yearbook 1984 — KSSS-AM staff listing
- IRCA DX Monitor, 1993 — Colorado Springs Sky Sox broadcast listing
- NRC DX News, 2001 — Sky Sox broadcast listing with Dan Karcher and Dick Chase
- Minor League Baseball, 2020 — Karcher and Chase described as PCL broadcasting legends
- The Gazette, April 12, 2008 — Ira Liebman replaces Chase as Sky Sox color commentator
- Pikes Peak Community College 2004–05 Catalog — Radio, Television faculty listing
- Tony Lynn, first-person oral-history contribution to the Colorado Radio Archive, October 2026 — Chase on KSSS middays during Lynn’s tenure.
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