Sports
Meet Dave Purpura, Dispatch high school sports reporter
(Editor’s note: This article is part of a weekly series featuring Columbus Dispatch journalists and their work in our community.)
Dave Purpura covers high school sports for The Columbus Dispatch, monitoring the achievements of teams and athletes at more than 100 schools across central Ohio.
A graduate of Independence High School and the University of Toledo, Purpura’s 24-year career includes several awards from the Associated Press Society of Ohio and Ohio Prep Sportswriters Association, among other organizations. He also writes The Dispatch’s weekly high school sports newsletter, an online exclusive for subscribers.
Below, he answers a few questions about his job.
Why I became a journalist
I’ve always liked to write — and talk — and my original career goals centered on the latter. From the time I was 5 or 6, I wanted to be a sportscaster. When our family would attend Cincinnati Reds games, I always listened to the game on a transistor radio and paid as much attention to Marty Brennaman and Joe Nuxhall in the broadcast booth as I did the players on the field. I was sports director of the University of Toledo student radio station for two years in the late 1990s, but when it came time for graduation, my contributions to the student newspaper paid off. Newspapers came calling faster than radio stations, and lo and behold, I’ve been writing for almost 25 years.
I am still paid to talk occasionally, given that I emcee our Central Ohio High School Sports Awards each June.
What I like best about my job
The variety and the chance to tell fun stories. Personality pieces have long been my favorites. And covering high school sports, if you’re ever ready for the end of one season, the next one is close at hand. I’m thankful to have met a lot of interesting people during a quarter-century of high school sports reporting, and that pipeline is not drying up any time soon.
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A story I worked on that has had a lasting impact on me
This one was fun and personal at the same time.
Photojournalist Barbara Perenic and I got the chance in September 2023 to journey to small Maria Stein, Ohio, home of Ohio high school football power Marion Local. The Flyers entered that season with a 48-game winning streak and 14 state championships, all since 2000, and look poised to win No. 15. What makes it so remarkable is that almost 90% of the boys in the school play football and there is no youth program.
Why is it so personal? Some of my best childhood memories come from visiting my grandparents in nearby St. Marys, one of several towns in that region with its own strong football pedigree, and I traversed many of the same roads going to and from Maria Stein that beautiful Friday afternoon and evening as Grandpa and I drove during my youth just for something to do.
Several last names on Marion Local’s roster were familiar to me, even though I knew none of the players personally. Work ethic and a sense of heritage are strong everywhere, but they were particularly acute for me that night, something I don’t always get to experience even working in my hometown.
Dave Purpura’s deep dive: From rural farm town Maria Stein, football juggernaut Marion Local towers over Ohio
Notable people I’ve met or interviewed as a journalist
Archie Griffin, Jim Lachey, Paul Keels, Joe Nuxhall and Jim Tressel come to mind immediately. As an unabashed Buckeye fan (they are my hometown team, after all), those definitely led to a few “pinch me” moments.
As far as an “I knew them when” moment, that might belong to a quarterback I covered at Stratford High School in Houston early in a 26-month sojourn to the Lone Star State. I introduced myself to that signal-caller after a huge game, told him I’d just moved in from Ohio and before I could ask a question, he happily mentioned his dad was from Cleveland and asked about my path. Maybe he sensed some homesickness on my part. More likely, it was a genuine selfless nature.
His name? Andrew Luck, future No. 1 pick in the NFL Draft.
The biggest challenge I face as a journalist
That one is simple — unreturned messages. They are the worst, and at the end of the day, deserving athletes do not get the proper coverage if others do not go to bat for them. With more than 100 high schools in our coverage area, it is a fact of life that coaches and athletic directors double as publicists. I can’t count how many excellent ADs and coaches I’ve had the pleasure of covering the past 24 years. I wish they would give lessons to everyone else.
And one more: I don’t get a chance to write every story I’d like.
What I like to do when I’m not working
Spend time with my family and friends — at least when they can make time, given that we’re at the age where many are navigating that hectic teenage phase — walk, golf (not as much as I would like, and consequently not as well) and watch sports. A lot of sports. I’m fascinated with weather, too, and storms always catch my eye. Perhaps my top bucket-list item is visiting every current Major League Baseball park. I have been stuck at a dozen for too long now.
Favorite event or Columbus-area tradition
I think Ohio State football counts as a Columbus-area tradition, so that’s my pick. I get to games when I’m lucky enough to obtain a ticket, and it’s a communal experience beyond the game itself. My wife and I annually attend the Dublin Irish Festival, Columbus and Pickerington Oktoberfests and the Columbus Italian Festival. Some combination of the food, drinks, music and people keep us coming back.
Why journalism matters
Because it gives me and my colleagues the chance to share your stories. The subject is the expert. I am merely the person putting the right words to their story. If someone picks me to do so and is thrilled with the result, that is a tremendous honor. I have never considered myself an activist or some agent of change. I like to tell stories, and if some good comes from them, all the better.
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