Edwards County resident, Dave Rigg announced today (Wednesday) that he is retiring from sports announcing at the end of the current high school basketball season. At the age now of 77, Dave is ending a career spanning 59 years in high school sports coverage.
Dave began his sports broadcasting career after graduating from Edwards County High School in 1967. He enrolled at Wabash Valley College in Mt. Carmel and was hired to do play-by-play for the Wabash Valley College basketball team and the Mt. Carmel High School basketball, football, and baseball teams. He held that position until 1971 when he took a job at WFIW in Fairfield. He did play-by-play for the Fairfield Mules as well as high school teams in Cisne, Wayne City, Edwards County, Mills Prairie, Enfield and Grayville.
Dave also broadcast the Class 1-A Basketball State Finals from Champaign for WFIW Radio in 1972, 1973 and 1974. Dave says he enjoyed broadcasting the Edwards County Volleyball State Finals from Normal in 2012, 2013 and 2014. In 2014 the Wayne City radio station WVYN hired Dave to broadcast the Baseball State Finals from Peoria for Weber High School and the 2015 State Softball Finals for Wayne City High School.
In 1979 Dave confined his basketball and football play-by-play work to Edwards County High School’s volleyball, basketball and football teams. In 2002 Dave began webcasting games on the internet for Edwards County High School’s basketball, volleyball, baseball and softball teams.
This school year Dave has been webcasting on the internet the Edwards County High School basketball, football, and volleyball games on the Edwards County Lions YouTube Channel.
Dave is widely known wherever he goes to do a game by the bright red sports coat he wears. He was elected to the Edwards County Sports Hall of Fame in 1998. Dave will continue to produce his daily Gospel Time program carried now by 13 radio stations in Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky and Texas.