Indy Radio: Pioneer Bill Shirk Retires

Bill Shirk

The man who brought HipHop music to Indianapolis was a former professional wrestler and a white guy

It was 1991, and the guy was Bill Shirk.

"WTLC wouldn't play rap," Shirk told the Indy Star, referring to the station that dominated the ratings among black listeners, "and I saw an opportunity because, at that time, of the top 30 songs nationally, 15 were rap."

He was an experienced though small-time radio station operator — over the years Shirk bought and sold nine Indianapolis radio stations — when the FCC awarded him a new FM signal in Indianapolis: 96.3. Despite its 330 watts, Shirk quickly made "Hoosier Hot 96" into a ratings powerhouse and forced other stations into playing more progressive hip hop music.

The 69-year-old Shirk's first day a retirement was this past Monday. His last on-air shift was noon to 7 p.m. Saturday on "Radio Mom" 91.1 FM, a low-power, nonprofit station in Lebanon. Shirk sold it last week for $205,000. After 43 years in Indianapolis radio, he is exiting.

Shirk arrived in Indianapolis in 1972 after acquiring WXLW on the AM band. He had moved from his hometown of Muncie, where he had been running WERK, a station owned by his father, a Muncie advertising executive.



Shirk, whose real name is William Shirk Poorman, was a top-notch self-promoter, and his radio stations benefited from his wacky brand of fame. The stations also benefited from a hands-on management style that harked to small town 1960.

Although last week Shirk sold his last Indiana station, he retains a 24 percent stake in an 11-station chain in Hawaii. Those stations are for sale, too, he said.

Shirk's big score came in 2000 when, as investors' demand for radio stations peaked, he sold WHHH 96.3 FM and two smaller stations to the Maryland-based media giant Radio One for $40 million. Half the money was his, the other half belonged to his investment partner.

Read More Now