Some of us HawkTalkers just learned that “DICK” aka Richard Poppe passed away this past week.
We are awaiting more information and will post about any services.
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RIP Dick. A true Miamian.
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Very, very sad. Dick was a knowledgeable man and a fervent supporter of Miami athletics. This is a real loss.
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I have known Dick for 40 years. I’m simply devastated. One of the greatest Miami fans of all time and a great human being.
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So, so sorry to hear this. RIP to a great Miamian, and condolences to his family and friends.
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Damn. Sad deal. I loved his technique on hoops and enjoyed his banter. Glad to have crossed paths with him here.
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Oh, no.
Simply a legend. Probably the greatest Miami fan ever. Proud to call him my friend. Proud to have sat with him, cheered with him, yelled at officials with him, and conversed with him on MHT. A sad night. We all will miss him greatly.
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Tragic. RIP. He was a great guy. I was thrilled to have met him the times we ran into each other at Miami events.
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RIP Dick. I have to imagine he and Charlie Coles are sitting together right now talking Miami basketball. Very sad news.
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I want to share the relationship I had with Dick Poppe.
I remember meeting Dick on March 1, 2009. I was a sophomore at Miami. The Miami mens team was playing Kent State at Millett that day. I had seen Dick at games that year and started to realize he was ALWAYS there. I had developed a few minor connections with some guys in the Sixth Man Club. Dick’s birthday wasn’t for a few days, but they told me they were celebrating that day. I went up and introduced myself. I told him I was a big Miami fan and I wanted to wish him a happy birthday. Miami won and Michael Bramos scored 34 of our 68 points. From that moment on, I never attended a Miami game without saying hello to Dick.
We developed a great bond. In March 2010, my sports loving grandfather passed away. I was 21 years old and the person who had the most influence on my biggest passion, sports, was gone. What would I do without him?
The answer was Dick Poppe. Without knowing it, Dick became my grandfather. That year, we went to the MAC basketball tournament. We saw 6 games in one day (2 womens and 4 mens). He introduced me to the Winking Lizard. In the fall of 2010, I drove to Gainesville and Dick let me stay in his room. He was there with me that Friday night when I received a call from Alex Dombroff (with my ticket) informing me he had missed his connecting flight in Atlanta because he went to Chick-fil-a on a 45 minute layover. Dick and I traveled to Central Michigan together and saw Andy Cruse catch a game winning touchdown right in front of us. Dick had been offered a spot in the Athletic Director’s suite at Buffalo. He chose me to attend with him. We were beside the Miami coaching booth and we had a tv. There was a play Miami needed to challenge but our coaches weren’t aware. Dick frantically pounded on the glass letting our coaches know to challenge the call. They challenged it and won. The next week, we saw Trevor Cook hit a game winning field goal in the fog at Bowling Green. The week after that, we saw Austin Boucher beat Akron.
The next game is my favorite memory with Dick. In the game against Temple, Thomas Merriweather burst through the line for a 96 yard touchdown run. Dick was singing the wrong words to some song, clapping offbeat, and dancing out of rhythm. It was euphoria for him.
I was also there when we won the MAC Championship game. He was so excited when Chris Givens caught a 4th and 20 tipped ball and then Armand Robinson caught the game winning touchdown.
For years, Dick always let me stay with him on Miami football roadtrips and he never asked for a dime. He shared all of his Miami memories with me. The 1992 tie against West Virginia that he celebrated as a win because his ex-wife was a WVU fan. Talking to Pat Narduzzi about getting a basketball player to switch to football. Too many to share.
Through the years, I continued attending many games with Dick. He invited me to his fantasy baseball league that has been around for 40 years. I drove from my home in Phoenix to visit him in Las Vegas. Yes, I got to experience Las Vegas with him. It was as amazing and as boring as you would all expect.
I invited him to a college football fantasy league that my friends have. Last year, we held our draft in Las Vegas so he could be there with us.
I felt so happy in December when I was finally able to give something back to him. He stayed with me for the Arizona Bowl.
This year, Dick was supposed to arrive at my home on Christmas night. We were going to go to the Rate Bowl and the Arizona Bowl on the 26th and 27th.
I have been in Arizona for 4 years and entering this season, the Arizona Bowl was the only game I had been to in that span. Thankfully, I decided to fly across the country and attend the Rutgers game. I got to talk with Dick at halftime. It was Dick’s last game and I thank God I got to be there with him.
This week, Dick was late submitting his lineup for the college football fantasy league. I got on here to discover he had not been online since September 10. I knew Dick checked this message board multiple times a day. Something was wrong. After a welfare check yesterday, Dick was discovered in his home.
I loved Dick Poppe, as many of us did. I hope Dick knew that. I know he loved me. I know he loved Miami. And I know he loved all of you.
Love and Honor, Dick. You will be missed more than you could ever realize.
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So well said, David. Bless you.
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Oh my god. Rest in peace, Dick, and may your memory be a blessing to us all.
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Dammit, I am bummed to hear this. Dick was the absolute best and we met a few times.
I am sharing the one pick I have with Dick in it. He’s in the first row all the way on the left. Yours truly is wearing the black Miami hat and 97X fleece, and I’ll let the others identify themselves. This is from when the “new” McKie Field opened.
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I am just stunned and saddened. Whenever I was going solo to a Miami game - I always knew that I could count on Dick for a great conversation no matter who he was with. I looked for him at every game for a chat. Miami lost its best fan
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So sorry to hear this. I met Dick for the first time last year at the Fort Myers, FL hoops tournament and sat by him. He was totally welcoming after I introduced myself, and it became quickly apparent that he had a terrific low key sense of of humor, which I loved. We also shared opinions about X’s and O’s, and he showed himself to be an extremely knowledgeable student of the game. I left there thinking “I’m going to make sure I connect with Dick at every event I can.” I deeply regret it won’t happen.
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Always enjoyed Dick’s comments. There’ll be a bigger audience for his wit, wisdom and insights upstairs. Keep an eye on this place for us too.
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Great post…thanks so much for sharing this. Having been on MHT since nearly the very beginning, I loved reading Dick’s eternal optimism about all Miami sports. He will be missed. Rest in peace Dick.
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David, that was a wonderful tribute to Dick. Thank you.
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RIP Dick. Will miss sitting near him at the basketball games. Always great insight.
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