Adam Lindner | Sports Editor
March 25, 2021
Known as the voice of Duquesne athletics, Dom Errico spent his offseason doing what he does best: helping others.
“He was a courier at Giant Eagle, assisting individuals that [were] high-risk during the pandemic with delivering their groceries,” said Zac Weiss, a friend of Errico’s and a Pittsburgh sports journalist. “He was one of the first that was willing to throw himself out there because it made someone else’s day easier. That’s who Dom was.”
Errico, Duquesne athletics’ public address announcer, died last week following a months-long battle with COVID-19.
He was 42.
Errico, who had been hospitalized since Jan. 25, is survived by his wife, Libbie, and their two sons, Nicholas, 10, and Anthony, 5.
The ever-jovial Errico, best-known for his work at Duquesne basketball games, became a staple at Duquesne sporting events following his hiring at the school in 2014.
Weiss met Errico in 2012 at an arena football game. The two became fast friends, mingling first at Pittsburgh Power games, then at Duquesne events.
“Dom was somebody that, no matter what he was doing, he put 100% into it because he loved what he did. He loved helping. He just loved life,” Weiss said. “Dom had one of the best, biggest, brightest hearts that I’ve ever known.”
Mike Asti, an area journalist, worked with Errico at TribLive Radio in 2016; at the time, Asti was an assistant station manager, while Errico had been hired for voiceover help.
He, too, remembered Errico’s affable nature.
Asti recalled a Halloween event the Trib hosted a few years ago. Event organizers were in search of a selfless volunteer, but to no avail.
“It included having TribLive Radio clappers and passing out candy and toys. And, honestly, nobody wanted to do that,” Asti laughed.
Then, Dom stepped up.
“Dom got really into it. He actually did this funny dance with the clappers and threw his leg in the air,” Asti recalled. “He stood there for hours and didn’t ask for anyone else to switch with him, never complained at all, and charmed every kid that went by.”
Asti said that Errico’s love for his sons reminded him of his own father.
“Seeing his face light up when he saw his kids — personally, it reminded me of how my dad looked at me. My dad passed away when I was 14, so [I was] only four years older than Dom’s oldest son right now. I kind of understand what his sons are going through right now, and just having that remind me of my dad looking at me — that’s the same look Dom had for his kids and his wife, too.
“We always would talk about our careers and the business,” Asti continued, “but Dom would always find a way to brag about his kids, brag about his family. As much as he loved his craft and using his voice — which, there was nobody with a better voice that I’ve heard — his family was definitely his top priority.”
Errico and Weiss often bonded over their shared passions of sports, media and Duquesne athletics. But Weiss remembered Errico, above all else, as a doting family man.
“Dom was a family man that loved his kids — both of his sons — absolutely to death. As loyal as he was to everything, that was always his No. 1,” Weiss said. “It’s been difficult for a lot of people trying to process how one of the nicest people you’ll ever meet is no longer physically with us, but he will always be with us.”
Errico was deeply invested in Duquesne’s athletic success, often sharing his thoughts about the school’s various teams via his Twitter page. He was especially interested in the men’s basketball program and was eagerly awaiting the opportunity to call a game at the newly-renovated UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse, which now will never happen.
But Errico’s memory will remain — not only for those who loved him, but for those that enjoyed his presence at gamedays, too.
“Uptown, in that Hill District area, was Dom’s territory. Dom became ‘the voice’ for that area. For arena football for a time, before the [Power] ceased operations. And, obviously, with Duquesne, where so many people became familiar with Dom’s voice,” Weiss said. “A booming, yet warm and comforting voice at the same time.”
Asti agreed.
“I think God might have been jealous and needed to borrow the voice.”
GoFundMe campaign in support of the Errico family: https://www.gofundme.com/f/libbie-leave-the-lights-on
