Friday-Sunday, October 7-9, 2005

WNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNBC fades into radio history on this date...

At 5:30PM, October 7th, 1988 WNBC was no more. The station that started as the experimental 2XB in 1919 breathed its last radio breath, signing off forever. WFAN, the former WHN took over the 660 frequency to present a steady diet of all-sports, all the time. Replacing WFAN at 1050 was WUKQ which would become WEVD the following year...

2XB would become WDAM briefly before becoming WEAF (water, earth, air, fire) on May 29, 1922. In July of 1926 RCA/NBC took over ownership of WEAF and sister station WJZ to form the Red & Blue Network. On November 2, 1946 WEAF became WNBC...

To those air personalities that worked with me and countless others that I've worked with over the years following WNBC, please do not be offended if you don't see your name on the following list. There is simply not enough time nor space to list the elite group that manned the mics of a legendary radio station...

A list of partial WNBC personalities from 1919 through 1988 include, Jack Benny, Burns & Allen, Fred Allen, Kate Smith, Buffalo Bob Smith, Bob & Ray, Don Imus, Soupy Sales, Cousin Brucie and Howard Stern...

Some personal thoughts on my time at WNBC follows in my commentary...

More October 7 Memories...

1918) Georgia Tech beats Cumberland College 222-0 (I wonder what the spread was on that game or as Warner Wolf would say, "if you gave 221 points in this game and took Georgia Tech, you're a winner")...

1952) Billy Martin makes a game-saving catch as the Yankees win their 4th straight World Series, beating the Dodgers in Game 7...

1960) "Route 66" premieres...

1960) JFK and Richard Nixon square off for round 2 of their presidential debates...

1964) The Beatles appear on "Shindig!" on tape doing "I'm A Loser", "Kansas City" & "Boys"...

1967) In Game 3 of the 1967 World Series the Cardinals beat the Red Sox 5-2 to take a 2-1 game edge in the series...

1968) The Motion Picture Association of America adopts a film rating system...

1975) The Red Sox advance to the World Series by sweeping the A's in the ALCS in 3 games...

1975) The U.S. decides not to deport John Lennon on a U.K. pot conviction...

1978) Toto releases "Hold The Line"...

1982) That horrible screeching and wailing you hear is coming from the Wintergarden Theater where "Cats" opens. In 1997 it becomes the longest running show in Broadway history...

1984) Walter Payton passes Jim Brown as the NFL's career rushing leader...

1985) 4 Palestinian terrorists hijack the Achille Lauro. They surrender after 2 days and pushing wheelchair bound passenger Leon Klinghofer off the boat...

1988) WNBC signs off (feature story)...

1988) Lou Piniella is fired as Yankee manager by George Steinbrenner for the 2nd time...

1995) Boston's Fleet Center opens for its first game, a 4-4 tie between the Bruins and Islanders despite Cam Neely's 3 goals for Boston...

1999) American Home Products settles its fen-phen case by paying out $4.83 billion to those adversely affected by the diet drug...

2001) Barry Bonds puts the cherry on top of his single season record for home runs by hitting #73...

2003) Arnold Schwarzenegger is elected governor of California in the recall election of Gray Davis...

Happy Birthday to...

1917) June Allyson...

1927) Al Martino...

1931) Desmond Tutu...

1943) Oliver North...

1951) John Cougar Mellencamp...

1955) Yo-Yo Ma...

Commentary...

One of the highlights of my radio career includes being among the select few program directors of WNBC radio from 1976 to 1977 and I have the historic book listing my name that was compiled by finance executive Harvey Eckstein of which I'm proud to own. It would probably take a book (hmmm) to chronicle my life as program director there, brief as it was...

Although Jim Reed (WNBC website) and Vince Santarelli (Apple Bites) can, I'm sure give you a more thorough history of WNBC, the facts used earlier are to the best of my knowledge accurate regarding dates and call letters...

To all who worked at WNBC through the years, this date in 1988 was a sad one as we said goodbye to a legendary radio station that meant so much to us all...

Saturday, October 8, 2005...

Don Larsen's perfecto...

On this date in 1956 Don Larsen did something that was never done before or since, pitch a perfect game (no runner reach first base) in the World Series. Larsen did it on the biggest sports stage there is, Yankee Stadium...

With every one of the 61,519 fans hanging on breathlessly on every pitch, the 27-year old righthander slipped a third strike to Dodger pinch-hitter Dale Mitchell for his 27th consecutive out and baseball immortality...

The final line-score read: Yankees 2-5-0, Dodgers 0-0-0, giving the Yankees a 3-2 advantage over the Dodgers in the 1956 World Series, a series they would go on to win...

Don Larsen at 76 remains active, attending a Yankee rally that was held prior to their playoff series with Anaheim on Monday...

More October 8 Memories...

1871) The Great Fire of Chicago kills 250 and leaves 90,000 homeless...

1918) Sgt. Alvin York single-handedly kills 25 and captures 132 Germans...

1956) Don Larsen pitches a perfect game in the World Series (feature story)...

1957) Jerry Lee Lewis records "Great Balls of Fire"...

1961) Whitey Ford breaks Babe Ruth's World Series record of 29 2/3's consecutive scoreless innings running his streak to 32...

1964) Ringo Starr takes and passes his driver's test...

1967) Game 4 of the Red Sox-Cardinals World Series goes to St. Louis on a 6-0 shutout by future Hall of Famer Bob Gibson...

1971) John Lennon releases "Imagine"...

1973) A brawl erupts in Game 3 of the National League playoffs between the Mets and Reds as Pete Rose and Bud Harrelson square off at second base...

1977) Billy Joel releases "The Stranger" LP...

1991) A slave burial site is found by construction workers in lower Manhattan. Over a dozen skeletons are discovered at the site that was closed in 1790...

1993) The U.S. government absolves the FBI of any wrongdoing in the final assault on the Branch Dividian compound in Waco, Texas...

2001) Tom Ridge is sworn in as director of the new Office of Homeland Security...

2003) Vivendi Universal and General Electric announce an agreement to merge into NBC Universal...

2004) Martha Stewart begins her 5-month sentence for lying about a stock sale, in West Virginia...

Happy Birthday to...

1941) Jesse Jackson...

1943) Chevy Chase...

1949) Sigourney Weaver...

1950) Robert "Kool" Bell...

1955) SNL's Darrell Hammond...

1970) Matt Damon...

Sunday, October 9, 2005...

'Strawberry Fields Forever"...

This 2.5 patch of land on Central Park's westside, in the shadows of the Dakota, where John Lennon was gunned down in 1980, was officially dedicated to the 45-year old (that day) former Beatle on this date in 1985...

While the fields were named in 1981 by Mayor Ed Koch, the official dedication would take place on John Lennon's 45th birthday on October 9, 1985...

More October 9 Memories...

1959) Bobby Darin becomes the youngest performer to headline the Sand's Hotel in Las Vegas...

1967) Latin American guerrilla Che Guevara was executed in Bolivia while attempting to incite revolution...

1967) The Red Sox rebound to take Game 5 of their World Series against the Cardinals as Jim Lonborg pitches a 3-hitter. Final score is 3-1. Both teams will return to Fenway Park for Game 6...

1969) The Supremes release "Someday We'll Be Together"...

1973) After 6 years of marriage, Elvis Presley & Priscilla divorce...

1974) Frank Robinson becomes baseball's first black manager as he agrees to a deal with Cleveland...

1979) Styx releases "Babe"...

1980) John Lennon releases "Starting Over" on his 40th birthday...

1985) Strawberry Fields in Central Park is dedicated (feature story)...

1986) Joan Rivers debuts her new "The Late Show" on Fox. She only lasts one season as host...

1997) North Carolina's Dean Smith retires as the winningest college basketball coach in history...

2000) Brett Hull passes his Dad, Bobby Hull on the all-time scoring list bringing him to ninth place, with his 611th goal...

2001) Anthrax letters postmarked in Trenton, NJ, are mailed to Senators Daschle and Leahy...

Happy Birthday to...

1923) Fyvush Finkel...

1952) Sharon Osbourne...

1953) Tony Shalhoub...

1956) John ("Dancing With The Stars") O'Hurley...

1975) Sean Ono Lennon...