The Wild Life of Hudson Valley Legend Rick Zolzer
A former ESPN radio host, the owner of a wedding entertainment company, a weekend DJ, a PA for dozens of sports teams, and the Vice President of the Hudson Valley Renegades. These are just a few positions that Rick Zolzer, better known as Zolz, has held over the past 40 years. And how was he able to do so much?
“I’m freaking old,” said Zolzer with a laugh. “I’ve been doing this stuff for a long time.”
Today, you can almost always find Zolzer in his second home, Dutchess Stadium. He’ll either be in his office, which is filled wall-to-wall with baseball memorabilia, or behind the mic in the stadium’s PA booth. His personality and energy is one that is legendary in the Hudson Valley, and it’s hard to imagine a Renegades game without thinking of the voice of Zolzer.
A big reason why Zolzer has been able to have so much success in his career is because, more than anything, he is an entertainer. After he finished college at the State University of New York College at Plattsburgh, he was the DJ of his own entertainment company, working bars and events all across the Hudson Valley. He also coached multiple sports at Our Lady of Lourdes High School in Poughkeepsie. Eventually, his talents were noticed, and he began to take the first major steps of his professional career.
“A local radio station discovered me,” said Zolzer. “They had me do sports on that station. And that led to me being very vocal when the Renegades came to town.”
At that time, the Renegades still had no stadium, as they were trying to get one approved by local legislators. Zolzer’s support for the Renegades’ endeavors was so great, that he would go to extreme lengths as an anchor of WPDH to make sure the team would have a home in the Hudson Valley.
“I was supporting it so much so that I would go on the air everyday and give out the home phone numbers of the legislators that were against the process,” said Zolzer. “I would tell people to call them at two in the morning to piss them off because they just don’t get it.”
Zolzer’s hard work paid off, as the legislative vote went in favor of the Renegades. The stadium was built in 72 days, and when it was finished. Zolzer got a call to come into the team’s new office.
“When I went down to the office, they offered me the PA job,” said Zolzer. “They told me, ‘You understand entertainment, and we clearly don’t, so do what you got to do.’ So, I took the job, and since I own a wedding company, I treated it like I would treat a wedding of 4500. And it caught on”
In over two decades with the Renegades, Zolzer would go on to see and do it all. He was the first PA announcer to get ejected from a game. He’s seen over two generations of fans come to enjoy the game of baseball. And he’s earned a promotion to Vice President of the team he campaigned for nearly thirty years ago.
“Zolz is a major part of the experience when fans visit Dutchess Stadium to see a Renegades game,” said team President and General Manager Steve Gliner. “He has been the stadium voice of the team for over 25 seasons. Zolz has a great knowledge of the game of baseball, and he also has decades of experience of entertaining large groups of people. When you combine those two assets, it is clear why he is one of the best to ever hold the PA Announcer position in professional sports. Zolz has played a significant role in the success of the Renegades all throughout the team’s rich history.”
Rick Zolzer has had a vast and extensive career in sports, becoming synonymous with the Hudson Valley Renegades. He is an unmatchable and indistinguishable figure in the ever-expanding world of sports media. He’ll continue to announce games and be a major presence in the Hudson Valley. But there is no doubt that, thus far, he’s had one wild ride.
