To honor that legacy, the station is putting 10 of those names -- covering 90 years of broadcasting -- in stone, reports The Chicago Tribune.
Work is beginning on the WGN Radio Walk of Fame, where plaques honoring 10 air personalities will be installed in the sidewalk outside the showcase studio along Michigan Ave. The initial inductees are: Jack Brickhouse, Bob Collins, Roy Leonard, Judy Markey, Spike O’Dell, Kathy O’Malley, Wally Phillips, Milt Rosenberg, Quin Ryan and Orion Samuelson.
“In the inaugural year the idea was to represent all nine decades of the radio station’s life on the air,” said Todd Manley, vice president of content at WGN Radio.
Chicago Tribune publisher Col. Robert McCormick put WGN Radio on the air in March 1924, with the call letters standing for World's Greatest Newspaper. Over the years, the groundbreaking station aired everything from the first Indianapolis 500 broadcast to the Scopes Monkey Trial.
The Walk of Fame will be unveiled on June 27, the culmination of a month-long celebration of WGN Radio’s 90th anniversary. The inaugural class was chosen for its star power and longevity, according to Manley.
Bios and career highlights of the inductees: Click Here.
WGN-AM 720 is not the only Chicago radio station celebrating its 90th anniversary. WLS-AM 890 went on the air on April 12, 1924. Originally owned by Sears Roebuck Company, the call letters stood for World’s Largest Store.
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