Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jun 20, 2026

Pat Caputo

Pat Caputo was an American sports writer and radio talk show host based in Southeast Michigan. He was an on-air host and sports columnist for WXYT-FM in Detroit. Caputo also occasionally appeared on the WJBK local sports discussion show SportsWorks.

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Pat Caputo
Born1959 (1959)
Died (aged 67)
Lake Orion, Michigan, U.S.
Alma materMichigan State University
Career
ShowPat Caputo
Station(s)WXYT-FM, Southfield, Michigan
Time slotWeeknights, Weekends
StyleSports radio
CountryUnited States
Websitewww.audacy.com/971theticket/authors/pat-caputo

Pat Caputo (1959 – May 7, 2026) was an American sports writer and radio talk show host based in Southeast Michigan. He was an on-air host and sports columnist for WXYT-FM in Detroit. Caputo also occasionally appeared on the WJBK local sports discussion show SportsWorks.

Early life

Caputo was born in 1959.12 He was raised in St. Clair Shores, Michigan, then moved to Birmingham, Michigan, at the age of 9.3 He attended Groves High School, where he played baseball and football,4 and graduated from Michigan State University.2

Career

Caputo was hired by The Oakland Press in May 1983, covering the Detroit Tigers from 1986 to 1998 and the Detroit Lions from 1998 to 2002, before working as the paper's sports columnist in 2002. His career at The Oakland Press would last until 2020 where Caputo was laid off, though he remained employed as a sports columnist for WXYT-FM.2

Television

In 1986, Caputo became a regular contributor to the Tigers round table segment on WDIV. He hosted a segment on the Tigers pregame show from 1990 to 1992 on PASS Sports, known as Caputo's Corner.5

Radio and podcast

Caputo began his radio career as a host at WDFN in 1996.67 In 2001, he would join their competitor WXYT as the host of The Book on Sports on weeknights and weekends.58 The station would later move to WXYT-FM in 2007, where the show's name was standardized as Pat Caputo. He was occasionally paired with Dennis Fithian, the co-host of Caputo and Fithian9 until Fithian was laid off in 2020.10 Since then, he continued to host Pat Caputo on weekends and weeknights.

He was also the host of the Detroit Tigers annual hot stove radio show TigerTalk with Dan Dickerson,1112 Inside Hockeytown with Ken Kal,13 and Pistons Tonight.14 In 2022, he started a podcast called Bustin' Balls with Pat Caputo which goes over draft prospects for all four major sports leagues with regards to the local sports teams in Detroit.14

Film

In 2011, he played a sportswriter in the film adaptation of Mitch Albom's Have a Little Faith.

Personal life and death

Caputo was a resident of Lake Orion, Michigan.15

On January 5, 2026, Caputo revealed that he had been diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer.161 He died of the disease on May 7, 2026, at the age of 67.17

Honors

Caputo was named the top sports columnist in Michigan by the Michigan Associated Press and the Michigan Press Association, and the top columnist in area by the Detroit Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. He was named among the Top Ten sports columnists in the nation by the Associated Press Sports Editors.2

References

References

  1. Komer, David (January 5, 2026). "Longtime sports columnist Pat Caputo diagnosed with stage 4 cancer". FOX 2 Detroit. Retrieved January 6, 2026.
  2. Paul, Tony (April 28, 2020). "'There's no bitterness': Oakland Press lays off longtime sports columnist Pat Caputo". The Detroit News. Retrieved May 8, 2022.
  3. Elliot, Kevin (May 2014). "Pat Caputo". Downtown Publications. p. 117. Retrieved December 14, 2022.
  4. Kuehn, Jeff (May 8, 2026). "Kuehn: Caputo told the unvarnished truth, wrote it straight down the middle". Macomb Daily. Retrieved May 9, 2026.
  5. "The Book on Sports". 1270 XYT. Archived from the original on August 21, 2007. Retrieved May 8, 2026.
  6. "WDFN, "The Pan"". Detroit Metro Times. April 21, 1999. Retrieved May 8, 2026.
  7. Casselberry, Ian (April 29, 2020). "Longtime Detroit sports columnist Pat Caputo laid off after 37 years at Oakland Press". Awful Announcing. Retrieved May 8, 2026.
  8. Lobdell, Joshua (May 1, 2009). "The Sad State of the Detroit Sports Media Has a Few Bright Spots". Bleacher Report. Retrieved December 14, 2022.
  9. Rogers, Justin (January 17, 2012). "Bob Wojnowski, Jamie Samuelsen join 97.1 The Ticket". MLive. Retrieved December 14, 2022.
  10. Paul, Tony (April 2, 2020). "97.1 The Ticket, WWJ 950 getting hit with layoffs, furloughs, pay cuts". The Detroit News. Retrieved December 14, 2022.
  11. Fenech, Anthony (January 20, 2015). "Detroit Tigers' Ian Kinsler trying to level swing, stop pop-ups". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved May 8, 2026.
  12. "TigerTalk Show Debuts on 97.1 "The Ticket" Tonight". MLB.com. January 5, 2016. Retrieved May 8, 2026.
  13. "Pat Caputo And Ken Kal Talk Red Wings Hockey". CBS Detroit. October 21, 2011. Retrieved May 8, 2026.
  14. Smith, Jackie (May 8, 2026). "Beloved Detroit sportswriter, radio host dies at 67 after late-stage cancer battle". MLive. Retrieved May 8, 2026.
  15. "PAT CAPUTO: Lake Orion, Indianwood, Oakland County, golf – all winners from U.S. Senior Open". The Oakland Press. July 15, 2012. Retrieved January 14, 2023.
  16. Bilbrey, Jeff (January 5, 2026). "Detroit Sports Personality Pat Caputo Makes Heartbreaking Announcement". Detroit Sports Nation. Retrieved January 5, 2026.
  17. Bilbrey, Jeff (May 7, 2026). "Pat Caputo, longtime voice of Detroit sports media, dies after cancer battle". Detroit Sports Nation. Retrieved May 7, 2026.
External links