Play-by-Play Announcer, Mountaineer Sports Network, and Manager, Pikewood Creative
By Samantha Cart
Perhaps best known as the iconic voice that helps bring the Mountaineers to life on the radio, Tony Caridi has had a knack for broadcasting from a young age. He started by delivering the morning announcements at school and working as a deejay at a roller rink, but it was an internship at a television station near his hometown of Lockport, NY, that solidified his passion.
“I’d fall asleep at night listening to broadcasts of the Buffalo Braves and Buffalo Sabres, and it ignited my interest in that world,” he recalls. “I would dream about how neat it would be to do that.”
Today, Caridi is a play-by-play announcer for the Mountaineer Sports Network, broadcasting West Virginia University’s (WVU) football and basketball games. He also hosts “Sportsline” on the MetroNews Network and a podcast called “Three Guys Before the Game” while managing Pikewood Creative, a West Virginia Radio Corporation company, where he helps produce video content and live sporting events.
Caridi’s strong work ethic is a learned trait he attributes to his greatest mentors: his parents. His father, Giuseppe, immigrated to the U.S. from Italy at age 32, and his mother, Mary, was born to Italian immigrant parents. Together they raised their three children to work hard at the family’s grocery store.
“We went to our house to sleep, but the store was our home,” he says. “My parents showed me what real work was and how to interact with people from all walks of life. The constant interaction with customers from every demographic provided me with an invaluable experience.”
After graduating from Syracuse University with a degree in broadcast journalism in 1984, Caridi landed his first job as a radio news reporter for WAJR in Morgantown. While the move to the Mountain State propelled Caridi onto a successful path, he had no contacts when he arrived. He made a commitment early in his career to mentor up-and-comers.
Along with mentoring young broadcasters, Caridi’s skill set has allowed him to give back in a unique way. He pays homage to his Italian heritage as an active volunteer, emcee and auctioneer for the Audia Caring Heritage Association, a charity committed to assisting domestic and international communities in improving quality of life by raising money for items like medical equipment, iPads, warm clothing and toiletries. He serves as a volunteer emcee and auctioneer for the WVU Cancer Gala, a host and auctioneer for the annual Bob Huggins Fish Fry and an emcee for the WVU Chapter of Fellowship of Christian Athletes. Caridi also hosts Inside the Huddle, a fundraising event that supports the Boys & Girls Clubs of Parkersburg and the Eastern Panhandle and the United Way of Central West Virginia, and he promotes Drew’s Day, an annual event that raises funds for West Virginians suffering from spina bifida.
In 2016, Caridi wrote a children’s book set in West Virginia, and a portion of the proceeds from every sale goes to the WVU Medicine Children’s Hospital.
“Deep within all of us is the need to give and help others,” he says. “Giving provides true happiness and fulfillment.”
To Caridi, West Virginia is home, and he attributes his greatest personal and professional successes to his adopted community where he met his wife, Joan.
“I wouldn’t have had any success without Joan and my family,” he says. “This is a unique business when it comes to hours and commitment of time. Joan raised our three boys, and I’m proud of how they’ve grown into great young men. Also, thanks to the success of WVU athletics, I’ve had the opportunity to broadcast some of the most iconic events in sports, including the Final Four, numerous NCAA tournaments, the Orange Bowl, the Sugar Bowl, the Fiesta Bowl and more than 1,000 Mountaineer games.”
Caridi is inspired by the attitude and passion of his fellow West Virginians.
“Their get-it-done attitude is how I was raised, and the passion that permeates their love of the state and the Mountaineers makes it where I want to be,” he says. “Knowing there are fans who are using my words to create a picture in their mind as to what’s happening drives me to do my very best. I never want to disappoint them.”
1984 Graduated from Syracuse University
1984 Hired by WAJR Morgantown
1986 Named sports director of the MetroNews Network
1986 Began hosting “Sportsline”
1990 Started PIA Sports Radio Network’s football play by play
1993 Announced Mutual Radio and Westwood One Radio Network College Football Game of the Week
1996 Named Mountaineer Sports Network’s football and basketball play-by-play announcer
2003 Started working at Pikewood Creative
2016 Wrote a children’s book
2018 Received a Regional Emmy Award for the Hot Rod Hundley documentary
