The name John DiSangro might not have rung many bells for those outside of Philadelphia, but within the City of Brotherly Love, especially its sports scene, he was a “treasure.”
DiSangro, who joined Comcast SportsNet (now NBC Sports Philadelphia) as an associate producer in 2006, passed away on June 26. He was 60 years old.
A mainstay of Temple Athletics, DiSangro started his career as a manager on John Cheney’s men’s basketball team in 1983. Per the school, “he was deemed so valuable to the program that the position of director of basketball operations was created to keep him on staff the year before he graduated in 1988.”
He remained in that position through 2006 when Cheney retired, helping the Owls to 17 NCAA Tournaments and five Elite Eights.
In the many years since he became a cornerstone of Philadelphia Phillies coverage behind the scenes. NBC Sports Philadelphia announcer Tom McCarthy offered a touching tribute to DiSangro during Friday’s broadcast.
“The Phillies, NBC Sports Philadelphia, Temple University, and quite frankly, all of the Tacony section of Philadelphia and the college hoops community lost an amazing treasure yesterday when John DiSangro, who we here at the Phillies and NBC embraced as Sang, died suddenly at his home,” said McCarthy. “Sang was one of those unique people, and they don’t make people like him anymore, who balanced loyalty with a diligence and a work ethic that was truly unmatched.
“He spent more than 20 years with the Temple men’s basketball program under John Cheney, first as a manager, only after Bruce Arians in the football program had no spots for him. And then for 19 years as the Director of Operations, when Coach, as Sang would refer to him, needed something, it was Sang who he called. He was there until we hired him in 2006 as the associate producer and jack of all trades with Phillies TV. But even before that, he would work all the telecasts of the three major sports teams. But he never left Temple. Inducted into their Ring of Honor in 2017.
“He was always the first to say, ‘God bless you’ when you sneezed, which is such a little thing, but it’s so important, and I’d love to hear it now. He was the first to ask what you needed. He knew everything about every sporting event. He loved cookies, and he loved cake, and he loved a good airplane bison burger with no cheese. He was the brains behind the Stump the Fans trivia question and all the graphics you would see on Phillies TV. His passing has left a gaping hole in the hearts of so many of us.”
Many others shared tributes of their own after news of DiSangro’s passing went public.