The Pittsburgh sports landscape wouldn’t look the way it does today without the contributions of Ken Mease.
As Robert Morris University’s athletic director from 1975-78, Mease oversaw the Colonials’ transition from a junior college to a Division I athletic program. A generation of Western Pennsylvania sports fans grew up hearing him on and off as a KDKA-TV and WPXI-TV sportscaster from the late 1960s through the mid ‘80s. Mease also made a big impression on quite a few young reporters — including Bob Pompeani, KDKA”s current sports director.
“Ken was one of those people who was very engaging,” Pompeani told the Post-Gazette. “He was extremely approachable and helpful. Anytime I had a question about anything, I could go to him.”
Mease died Tuesday at the age of 80 in Gaithersburg, Md. Blake Mease, Ken’s youngest son and Pompeani’s godson, said that he was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s five years ago and believes that he ultimately succumbed from complications stemming from that disease and an infection that recently landed him in the hospital.
He is survived by his wife, Paulette Mease, 79 and of Gaithersburg, and sons Kert, 48, Bart, 46, and Blake, 38, all of Gaithersburg. Blake said that he and Kert moved in with their parents two years ago to help care for their father. Ken was a notoriously pleasant and magnanimous guy, and that didn’t significantly change even as his Alzheimer’s progressed, according to Blake.
“He was never angry,” Blake said. “Always super happy, and kind of kept the same personality. He was not overly difficult to take care of. It’s amazing how he maintained being the same guy through the end of it all.”
Mease was born in Selinsgrove, Pa., and never lost the values his hometown instilled in him even after he began working in larger metro areas.
“He was literally the small-town guy in big cities,” Blake said. “He’ll talk to the guy at the local grocery store for a half hour. They know more about our vacation plans than we do!”
His broadcasting career began in 1965 as a radio DJ at WFEC-AM (now WHGB) in Harrisburg. After a brief stop at WBTV in Charlotte, N.C., Mease began his first stint as a KDKA sports anchor in 1968. He spent three years at Channel 2 before leaving Pittsburgh to take over as sports director at WPRI-TV in Providence, R.I. Mease returned to the Steel City in 1974 to become the new weekend sports anchor at WIIC-TV (now WPXI).
In 1975, Mease was named RMU’s new athletic director and baseball coach. During his time there, he helped the university’s basketball, tennis, golf and baseball programs make the jump to NCAA Division I status. In addition, all three of his children graduated from and participated in athletics at RMU. Both Kert and Blake played soccer there, and Bart was inducted into the RMU Athletic Hall of Fame in 2004 for his golf prowess.
"The RMU Department of Athletics is saddened to learn of the passing of former director of athletics Ken Mease,” read a statement from RMU athletics. “Ken was a pioneer in his time with the Colonials, helping Robert Morris transition from the junior college ranks to NCAA Division I in 1976. ... Our thoughts are with the Mease family during this difficult time."
Following his time at RMU, Mease spent a year back on the WIIC weekend sports desk before beginning a six-year tenure as a KDKA weekend sports anchor and weekday reporter in 1980. That’s when he first crossed paths with Pompeani, who began his four-decades-and-counting career at KDKA in 1982.
Pompeani always respected and enjoyed Mease’s ability to spin a good yarn. He described his friend and colleague as “a long-form type of person” who would often ask for more time on air to expand whatever story he was telling. Mease’s gift for gab was particularly evident during one broadcast Pompeani recalled where his teleprompter completely shut down mid-segment.
“He was as smooth as they come,” Pompeani said. “Never missed a beat. I said, ‘Holy cow, that was something interesting to watch.’ He just adapted to the adversity of the moment.”
In Pompeani’s experience, Mease was a fun-loving, gregarious fellow “who could break a barrier” with any athlete and immediately foster a relationship with them. He would also regularly end up talking with folks who recognized him on the street for 15 minutes or more.
“I kind of do the same because I saw it from him,” Pompeani said.
In 1986, Mease left KDKA and Pittsburgh to become a sports anchor at WUSA-TV in Washington, D.C. After 17 years there, he left that role but still dabbled in broadcast media through hosting the Washington Commanders’ radio postgame shows. He finally hung up the mic for good in 2009.
Blake said that his father “was legitimately the nicest, most genuine guy I’ve ever met.” He never let his hectic sportscasting career get in the way of going to his kids’ games. Mease was good at savoring life’s quieter moments, which Blake illustrated by describing the kind of scene that often played out at the golf course his father helped out at after his retirement.
“This is a guy who interviewed [Muhammad] Ali and [Michael] Jordan, and he would spend a half hour talking about the green maintenance at this golf course,” Blake said. “It shows how the TV business never got to his head. His priorities were about the small things in life.”
Though his last few years weren’t easy, at least Mease had his wife and three children close by to ensure he could live out the rest of his days at home. Blake said that his father was able to hold on just long enough to celebrate Bart’s 46th birthday with the rest of the family a few days ago.
Mease died at 1:43 p.m., which Blake thought was fitting given that 1-4-3 was always Fred Rogers’ code for “I love you.” While in D.C., Mease formed a relationship with Gallaudet University and was taught a bit of America Sign Language in the process. He would often end his D.C. newscasts by signing “I love you” as both a message for his family and a direct homage to his Pennsylvania roots.
“He had an amazing life, for sure,” Blake said. “And he gave us an amazing life.”
Joshua Axelrod: jaxelrod@post-gazette.com and Twitter @jaxelburgh.
First Published: August 23, 2022, 7:22 p.m.
