Norm Hitzges, a member of the Texas Radio Hall of Fame and appeared on ESPN during the 1990s, will catch up with some of his childhood friends from Dunkirk for the first time in roughly a decade at a reunion dinner Monday night at the White Inn. Hitzges, 80, will tour the area on Tuesday before heading out to visit family in New York City on Wednesday.

“We’ll have a mini reunion,” said Roger Orcutt, a classmate and close friend of Hitzges. “It will be pretty cool.”

Back in the 1950s and early 1960s, Hitzges was one of the area’s brightest young students. From his days at Sacred Heart Grammar School, then onto Cardinal Mindszenty High School, Hitzges always was destined for great things.

“He was the whiz kid. He was the brightest kid in the class, that’s for sure,” Orcutt said.

Pictured is the emblem of the Aquila Club, which Norm Hitzges founded in the loft of his garage in his youth.

While in school, Hitzges formed the Aquila Club in the loft of his garage. The members wore light blue coats donning the symbol of the Aquila — the Latin word for eagle.

The club featured a group of seven close friends — Hitzges, Orcutt, Allen Hollander, Fred Schrantz, Bill Strefeler, Dave Jagoda, and James Stroehlein made up what they called, “The Magnificent Seven.” Five of those seven members will be together Monday night at the White Inn for a reunion dinner down the road from where they grew up. The other two members now live out of state.

“We weren’t just classmates, we were tight,” Hitzges said. “To have five of us reach the 80s, my goodness.”

Orcutt said the members of the Aquila Club were all dedicated students, but none more so than Hitzges. That dedication earned Hitzges a full Regents Scholarship to Canisius College upon graduating Cardinal Mindszenty High School in 1961, which he did as a member of the Honor Society.

While at Canisius, Hitzges worked as a proofreader for the OBSERVER. He recalls putting the paper together line by line before working his way up to being a writer.

“Fond memories,” Hitzges said. “I loved my years there.”

From there, Hitzges moved on to do great things in a much larger market. After graduating from Canisius, Hitzges eventually wound up in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, one of the nation’s largest markets. Over the next four-plus decades, he became a titan in the sports media industry.

Hitzges hosted sports talk radio in the Dallas-Fort Worth market for 48 years before retiring in June of 2023. Hitzges’ 48-year milestone blew past the record for the longest running sports radio show in the market.

Over that time, Hitzges formed relationships with the biggest stars in the world of sports, from Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban to Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones and head coach Jimmy Johnson. Cuban even stated that Hitzges’ show was the first program streamed on the internet.

Even a bout with bladder cancer could not convince Hitzges to give up his microphone until he decided he was ready to do so. When that day finally came, Orcutt was pleased to learn that he finally gave in.

“I’ve been browbeating him for 10 years to retire,” Orcutt said. “… It’s time to take time to smell the roses.”

Monday night will be the first time Hitzges returns to the area since announcing his retirement. Recalling his last visit, Hitzges said of Dunkirk, “It’s a lot better looking town than I remember.”

Hitzges looks forward to seeing how things have evolved over the past decade with his wife, Mary, who will be with him on the trip. His last trip back to Dunkirk was Mary’s first visit to the area that he first called home.

“I really have become fond of coming back,” Hitzges said. “When you’re young, you have this desire to get away. Then, when you get away, sometimes when you come back, you realize, ‘I was raised in a good spot.’ ”