October 28 Radio History

In 1922...WEAF in New York broadcast the first collegiate football game heard over a widespread radio network.  Princeton played the University of Chicago at Stagg Field in the Windy City. The broadcast was carried on phone lines to New York City, where the network transmission began. (Princeton 21, Chicago 18.)

In 1940...comedian Henry Morgan‘s radio career took a turn for the better as he debuted ‘Here’s Morgan,’ a nightly 15-minute strip on New York’s WOR.


In 1945...CHUM launched as a dawn-to-dusk radio station.

On May 27, 1957, at 6 AM, owner Allan Waters switched the station to a "Top 50" format that had proven itself popular in some U.S. cities; Elvis Presley's "All Shook Up" was the first song played. "1050 CHUM" pioneered rock and roll radio in Toronto, and was noteworthy for hosting many noteworthy rock concerts including, among others, visits to Maple Leaf Gardens by Elvis Presley (1957) and The Beatles (1964, '65, and '66). While the station was rising to the top of the popularity ratings in Toronto in the late 1950s and early 1960s, it also built a new transmitter in Mississauga, Ontario (a few miles west of the current Toronto city line) along the Lake Ontario shoreline, and raised its power to its current 50,000 watts (DA-2) around the clock.

In the late 1950s, CHUM was calling itself "Radio One", as its ratings continued to increase. An important part of CHUM's success was the station's unpredictable morning man Al Boliska, who joined CHUM in October 1957, after working at station CKLC in Kingston, Ontario. By 1959, Boliska had made a name for himself as a disc jockey who got listeners talking. He also made them laugh, and became known for telling what he called the "World's Worst Jokes". Boliska also did a number of stunts, such as taking part in a professional wrestling match with Whipper Billy Watson. When he lost, that led to another stunt, where Boliska stayed away from his show for several days, saying he was now too discouraged by the loss to do his show. A hypnotist was called in, and Boliska's self-esteem was restored. Boliska left CHUM in late 1963 to go 'across the street' to CKEY.

He was replaced by WKBW Buffalo radio & TV personality Jay Nelson, popularly known as "Jungle Jay" from his role as host of a children's show on Buffalo's Channel 7 which was also popular among Toronto youngsters. Nelson was Morning Host for more than 20-years on CHUM.



CHUM became well known for its zany contests. In the 1950s and '60's, it was contests such as 'The Walking Man', where listeners had to spot CHUM's mystery walking man using only clues given out on the air. The 1970s' "I Listen to CHUM" promotion had DJs dialing phone numbers at random and awarding $1,000 to anyone who answered the phone with that phrase. In 1976, there was the CHUM Starsign promotion. Listeners wore a button featuring their astrological sign. If CHUM's 'Starsign spotter' saw you wearing your Starsign, you won prizes such as money or concert tickets to major events.

In 1946...our favorite flying cowboy was heard on ABC radio for the first time. “Sky King” starred Jack Lester, then Earl Nightingale, and finally, Roy Engel, as Sky.

In 1950...Jack Benny's popular program on CBS Radio transitioned to CBS Television where it stayed until 1964 before moving to NBC-TV for its final year. His weekly radio show ran from 1932 to 1955.

In 1953...Red Barber resigned after 14 seasons as the radio voice of the Brooklyn Dodgers to join Mel Allen and the New York Yankees broadcast team.



In 1956...Elvis made his second appearance on “The Ed Sullivan Show.” He sang several songs, including “Don’t Be Cruel” and “Hound Dog,” and Ed presented him with a gold record for “Love Me Tender.”

Brian Epstein

In 1961...While working as a clerk at a record store in Liverpool, England, Brian Epstein was asked by a customer (Raymond Jones) for a copy of "My Bonnie", the new single by a group called the Beatles.  After a second customer requested the record, Epstein ordered it and went to the Cavern Club to hear this group.  He later became their manager.


In 1963...New York DJ "Murray the K" played "She Loves You" by the Beatles. This is believed to be the first time a Beatle song was played in the U.S.

This claim is disputed by several.   Pacific Northwest deejay Pat O'Day maintains that it was not Murray the K that played the first ever Beatles record in the US but in fact it was played in Seattle at Pat's station KJR 950 AM. (Date undisclosed)

WLS in Chicago charted it for the weeks of March 8 and March 15, 1963 (peaking at #35), before dropping it off. Some fairly exhaustive research at Kent Kotal’s Forgotten Hits establishes pretty clearly that WLS was the first station in America to play the Beatles, in late February 1963, nearly a year before the outbreak of Beatlemania across the country.


In 1986... KOB 770 AM in Albuquerque New Mexico changed its call letters to KKOB.

KOB was founded at the New Mexico College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts in Las Cruces (now New Mexico State University) by Ralph Willis Goddard, and began broadcasting tests in 1919 under the call letters 5XD. On April 5, 1922 the station began regular operation as KOB, a callsign which had belonged to marine radio aboard the Princess Anne before its February 2, 1920 shipwreck on Rockaway Shoals, Long Island. New Mexico A&M sold the station after Goddard was electrocuted while adjusting the transmitter on December 31, 1928. In 1933 the station moved to Albuquerque, and was later bought by the Albuquerque Journal.

KKOB 770 AM (50Kw) Night Coverage 

In 1948, Tom Pepperday, owner and publisher of the Journal, signed on KOB-TV, the first television station between the Mississippi River and the West Coast. The stations passed to Time-Life in 1952 and to Hubbard Broadcasting in 1957. Hubbard Broadcasting sold the radio stations in 1986. In order to trade on the well-known KOB calls, the new owners simply added an extra "K" to the radio station's call letters.

KOB was involved in a 38-year-long dispute with New York City station WABC (originally WJZ) over the use of the 770 kHz frequency. KOB was moved there from 1030 to make room for WBZ in Boston.

While the FCC requested that WJZ install a directional antenna to allow the stations to interoperate over large areas, the station refused to comply, encroaching on the range KOB was intended to cover.

Only after reaching the U.S. Supreme Court was the issue settled, when the FCC assigned KOB to a new license class. KKOB and WABC became sister stations when Citadel Broadcasting purchased ABC Radio in 2007; Citadel merged with Cumulus Media on September 16, 2011.

In 1995...The Hot 100.."Fantasy" by Mariah Carey was #1 for a fourth week in an excellent Top 10.  Coolio logged a fifth week at #2 with "Gangsta's Paradise" after being #1 for three weeks--impressive.  "Runaway" from Janet Jackson was #3 followed by the classic Seal song "Kiss From A Rose".

The rest of the Top 10:  Michael Jackson with the 25th and last Top 10 of his career "You Are Not Alone", Sophie B. Hawkins had #6--"As I Lay Me Down", Groove Theory's "Tell Me", Hootie & the Blowfish at #8 with "Only Wanna' Be With You", Take That entered the Top 10 for the first time with "Back For Good" and Natalie Merchant's solo hit "Carnival" was #10.

In 1995...The Album Charts.."Daydream" by Mariah Carey was the top album.  Insomniac by Green Day debuted at #2 with Jagged Little Pill from Alanis Morissette sliding to #3--for now.  There really wasn't much competition at the time and Design of a Decade 1986/1996 by Janet Jackson debuted at #4.

The rest of the Top 10:  The "Dangerous Minds" Soundtrack, Cracked Rear View by Hootie & the Blowfish after 66 weeks of release, Starting Over from Reba McEntire, All I Want by Tim McGraw was #8, The Woman in Me from Shania Twain was up to #9 and the solid album CrazySexyCool by TLC was still in the group after 48 weeks.

In 2005…Top 40 disc jockey "Bwana Johnny" (Rick Johnson) died of heart failure at the age of 56.

Bwana had been a popular disc jockey at the old 1260/KYA back in the late 1960s.

Before coming to the Bay Area in 1969, "Beautiful Bwana" worked at KLOG/Kelso, Wash., WUBE/Cincinnati and KJR/Seattle. He moved on to WWDJ/New York as music director and afternoon-drive jock (1971-1973) and spun records for a year at WFUN/Miami before returning to his hometown, Portland, Ore., as "Crazy Dick Simms" on the Rose City's legendary KISN in 1975.

Courtesy of Airchexx..from 1969...