By: Aj Mansour | KFAN.com
@AjMansourKFAN
It is with heavy hearts and saddened spirits that we come to you today with the news that Minneapolis has lost one of it's radio legends this afternoon. KFAN contributor and local sports legend Dark Star was found unresponsive in his Minnetonka apartment Friday afternoon and declared deceased shortly there after.
Born George Hutton Chapple, Dark was the epitome of a high spirited individual. A true lover of life, Chapple was known and loved around the Twin Cities for his carefree spirit and passion for all things sports. It was never a rare occurance to see Dark out on the town treating friends to dinner and always leading the conversations that were often centered, but not always dominated, by the day's sports talkers.
An only child, Dark Star does not have any nuclear family remaining in Minnesota, but that doesn't mean that his extended "family" is not grieving a gigantic loss this evening. George has an extended family saddened at WCCO radio, extended family members grieving at Canterbury Park and most recently extended family mourning the loss at KFAN radio.
Dark fostered his great sports mind for years prior to hopping on the radio. After returning from Vietnam, Dark found employment working as a doorman and sports writer in the Twin Cities before he entered the Minnesota radio market with a job covering horse racing for WCCO in 1986. Once in the door, it didn't take long for Dark to establish his place on the air waves where he soon launched "Sports Night With Dark Star," his 9pm-1am sports talk show. Different renditions of "Sports Night" ran for almost 25 years before Chapple and WCCO parted ways in 2010.
Shortly after leaving the AM side of the dial, Dark found a new radio home with KFAN where he instantly slid in and became a big part of the FAN family. Joining "The Common Man" Dan Cole weekly and producing "Saturday's with Sauce" on a regular basis, Dark stormed into KFAN and acted as if he had always been a part of the family. He was just one of those guys who had the "it" factor that drew people from all walks of life towards him and no matter who you were or what your responsibilities at the station might have been, Dark Star knew your name. Often seen dawning gifts for those who had helped him out with projects, Dark was never too busy for a chat and was eternally grateful for any time you had to offer him.
Dark Star also spent time with WUCW television and was a staple at Canterbury Park horse racing track.
Over the past few years as his public presence lessened, token Dark-isms can still be heard uttered around town. From his voicemail message that repeated, "If it's good news or money leave a message" to his most well known interview retort of asking listeners and guests if they slept naked, Dark Star had a style that was uniquely Dark Star's.
There were many other people in town that knew Dark Star better than I did, but Dark did everything in his power to make me feel otherwise.
"Notes on a Scorecard" was the reason that brought Dark and I together late last year. Enjoying his opportunity to join KFAN on the air, Dark yearned to have more of a presence with the station and opted to head towards the internet and planned to launch a blog on which he would showcase his in-game thoughts. There was only one problem, Dark and computers didn't really get along! No worries though, he had a solution for that.
Reading from a hand written notepad where he had began to formulate his random thoughts into semi-comprehensible sentences, Dark would pick up his phone and call me at my desk to recite his jottings to my listening ear. Often one to verbally edit his work over the phone only to re-edit it back to it's original state, Dark would hang on the line for up to half an hour just to chat NBA and MLB with me. Despite what his opinions on the topic might have been, he always desired to hear my take on the situation and was genuinely interested in my opinions of his writings. It meant the world that he cared enough to listen, not just speak.
A lover of all sports, Dark was in his element talking Horses, Baseball and the NBA. Focusing much of his attention on his beloved Golden State Warriors and Minnesota Twins, Dark remained an equal opportunity fan who enjoyed the game for the sake of the game, not necessarily for the teams that were playing it. I'm convinced to this day that Dark Star was the very reason that DirectTV offers the MLB & NBA league-wide packages as there was seemingly not a single game that the guy would ever miss.
KFAN personality and Dark Star's coworker at Canterbury Park Paul Allen described today's events as "absolute devastation." Reminiscing on how Dark had impacted his life, PA shared this story of Dark that he promised he would never forget.
"Before my mom died in 2006," PA said. "For four seasons calling Vikings games, I would call my mom right before kickoff to tell her I loved her. Dark said he used to call his mom before every radio show to do the same. He implored me to call my mom before every game to tell her I loved her. It's things like that which are coming to mind when I think about the legacy of Dark Star."
Although Dark Star is no longer with us, his legacy in the Twin Cities sports media will always live on. His care free attitude and bold opinions might have regularly rubbed level headed fans the wrong way, but for those that knew him best, he obviously lived his life to please others. No matter what you thought of Dark's unorthodox approach towards sports or radio, there's one thing we can all agree on...
George Chapple's life was lived to the fullest and will forever be known as the ultimate "Dark Star Production."
Check out a Dark Star Montage compiled by Joe Nelson.
Aj Mansour covers Minnesota Sports for KFAN.com. He is but one of many "Dark Star Productions" continuing his legacy around the Twin Cities.
*Photo: Richard Sennott - Star Tribune
