November 19 In Radio History

In 1933…Radio talk show host, Larry King was born. He later parlayed his Radio success into a successful television talk show on Cable News Network (CNN).

In 1954…First mass-market transistor pocket radio introduced, the Regency TR-1. It's a four-transistor radio that operates on a 22.5 volt hearing aid battery and it sold for $49.95--quite a chunk of money for a radio back then.

In 1957…The local chapter of the Elvis Presley fan club picketed Chicago radio station WCFL after it banned Presley's records (before the station flipped to Top 40). Nevertheless, the station did not reverse its policy.

In 1965…ABC radio began a weekly "Vietnam Update" report.

In 1971…Sportscaster Bill Stern, who announced the first remote sports broadcast in the U.S. and the first telecast of a major league baseball game, died at age 64. Bill Stern's Sports newsreel was a show about the way Bill Stern broadcast baseball games from 1937 to 1956. Stern made famous the dramtic pause, the over emotional call and exagerrated words in every sentence.

In 1980…the "Sunday Morning Oldies Show" with Roger Ashby debuted on CHUM-1050 AM in Toronto.