Richard "Dick" Hoxworth is a retired American TV journalist. He was known for his forty-year career at WGAL in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, anchoring News 8 Today in the mornings and News 8 at Noon in the afternoons. He was nicknamed as "Hoxy" around WGAL.[1]
Hoxworth’s date of birth is unknown. He grew up in a blue-collar neighborhood in southeastern Lancaster, and for a time, worked as a paperboy. Hoxworth grew up watching WGAL when he was young because it was the only station his family picked up on their TV. In 1965, he was drafted into the Air Force. For two years, he stayed in Tokyo to take college courses and work as a cryptographer. He keeps a dog tag on his key chain to remember his years in the military.[2]
Career
After discovering his passion for writing in English class, he joined WGAL in 1968. During his tenure, he was known for breaking the news of Hurricane Agnes in 1972, the partial meltdown at Three Mile Island in 1979, covered the 1988 Democratic National Convention, interviewed Natalie Wood, Gregory Peck, and Bob Hope, as well as the return of the first American POWs from Vietnam among a host of other stories that he occasionally gets out into the field to report them. He also covered the abandoned town of Centralia, PA in 2005, where a fire broke out underground in 1962. He then paid a visit to the abandoned place, speaking to a few citizens still living at their homes, which sat above the smoldering coal fire.[3]
On November 25, 2008, Hoxworth announced he would be retiring from News 8 Today.[4] He retired from WGAL on December 24, 2008.[2][5]He returned in March 2009 for the station’s 60th Anniversary.[6] In January 2011, Hoxworth briefly returned to WGAL to pay tribute to Maj. Richard Winters.[7] In March 2024, He returned to WGAL along with other former anchors to help celebrate its 75th Anniversary.[8]
Awards
Hoxworth won several press awards, including three regional Emmys. In 2016, he was among the first inductees to be honored and inducted into the WGAL Hall of Fame, which symbolizes the strong foundation and legacy of how WGAL was founded. In 2022, Hoxworth was honored at a Lancaster barnstormer game and was given a blanket of honor for his military service in the Air Force for four years.[9][10]
Personal life
Hoxworth married Sue Loucks in 1975. They also have a son named Jonathan (born July 4, 1978) along with two grandchildren.[2][11][12]
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