Richard Gale " Dick " Rifenburg ( August 21 , 1926 – December 5 , 1994 ) was an American football player and a pioneering television broadcaster for the forerunner to WIVB @-@ TV in Buffalo . He played college football for the University of Michigan Wolverines in 1944 and from 1946 to 1948 . He was a consensus selection at end on the 1948 College Football All @-@ America Team . Rifenburg played professionally in the National Football League ( NFL ) with the Detroit Lions for one season in 1950 . After retiring from football he settled in Buffalo and became a sports broadcaster . He worked as a color commentator and as a play @-@ by @-@ play announcer for the Buffalo Bulls . He hosted various television and radio sports shows and was eventually inducted into the Buffalo Broadcasters Hall of Fame .