Philly Radio: WPEN The Fanatic Launches New AM, PM Drive Shows

As Philadelphia sports fans wake up across the Delaware Valley Monday morning, they're doing so as a new era in sports talk radio begins with WPEN 97.5 FM The Fanatic's launch of a local morning show.

Mike Missanelli

Anthony Gargano in The Morning will feature the veteran sports writer and talk show host paired with long-time 97.5 personality Jon Marks, Jaime Lynch and Maureen Williams.

Gargano joins the 97.5 staff after a 15-year tenure at rival sports radio station 94.1 WIP and will be teamed with Marks each weekday morning from 6-10 a.m.

"It's the new 97.5 The Fanatic," WPEN-FM program director Matt Nahigian said during an exclusive sit down with nj.com. "If you were to tell me eight years ago that Anthony [Gargano] would be my morning show and Mike [Missanelli] would be my afternoon show, I'd take that deal every day of the week and say that's as good as it gets. That part is really exciting for the radio station."

Along with Lynch producing the show and Williams as the show's update anchor, Gargano and Marks will give the Fanatic a local presence in the morning to combat longstanding WIP talker Angelo Cataldi for the first time in nearly a decade when Glenn Foley and Michael Bradley co-hosted a morning show when the station was formerly known as Sports Talk 950 on the AM dial back in 2007.

WPEN 97.5 FM (26 Kw) Red=60dBu Local Coverage Area

Prior to launching its new local morning show, 97.5 carried ESPN's Mike and Mike in the morning. Despite pulling the plug on the nationally syndicated show featuring Mike Golic and Mike Greenberg, the Fanatic will remain an ESPN Radio affiliate.