Tim Weigel
John Timothy Weigel (March 4, 1945 – June 17, 2001), known professionally as Tim Weigel, was a Chicago broadcaster who spent most of his career as a television sports anchor and reporter.
Early life and education
Weigel grew up in Gurnee, Illinois, north of Chicago. His father was John Weigel, a broadcast announcer who did voiceovers for national commercials and who founded WCIU-TV and Weigel Broadcasting. His mother, Virginia Ahn, had been a big-band singer with Tommy Dorsey.[1]
Weigel later moved with his family to Lake Forest, Illinois, where he graduated from Lake Forest High School. He finished third in his class and then attended Yale University, where he played football and was in the same Residential College as future movie critic Gene Siskel. He graduated from Yale with a bachelor's degree in history, and after two years of working, returned home to the Chicago area to earn a master's degree in film from Northwestern University in 1970.[1]
Professional career
Weigel spent the first two years out of Yale working as an inner-city schoolteacher in
In 1971, Weigel returned to Chicago as a college football writer for the
In February 1995, Weigel joined WBBM-TV as its lead sports anchor/sports director.[2] He also began writing a sports column for the Chicago Sun-Times.[1]
Illness and death
In June 2000, Weigel began experiencing vision problems. An MRI revealed a brain tumor, and he underwent immediate surgery. After his operation and subsequent radiation treatments, Weigel returned to work. However, six months later, an MRI showed a recurrent tumor.[1]
Weigel died exactly one year to the day after his operation, at his home in Evanston, Illinois.[3]
Personal
Weigel married his high school sweetheart, Kathy Worthington, in 1966. They had two children, Rafer Weigel, also a former WLS-TV sports anchor now at Fox 32 Chicago, and Jenniffer Weigel, who became a Chicago television reporter. Weigel and Worthington divorced in 1975. He later married Carol Phifer, and that marriage also ended in divorce.[1]
In 1992, Weigel married morning radio personality Vicki Truax. They had one daughter, Teddi, in 1994.[1]
Tim enjoyed a side career of playing semi-pro Football for the Chicago Lions in the late '70s into the early '80s. He was a running back who was known as White Shoes Weigel. In 1999, he was inducted into the American Football Association's Semi-Pro Football Hall of Fame.[4]