Dale Arnold, a staple on WEEI 93.7 FM since it switched to a sports format 30 years ago, announced Thursday that he is retiring from the station. His final show will be Friday, reports The Boston Globe.
“I’m going to retire from the radio business,” said Arnold, who turns 65 later this month. “I am not going to be coming back after tomorrow’s show.”
Arnold, the cohost of the midday “Dale and Keefe” show, said the decision has been in the works for several weeks. He will continue in his studio host’s role on NESN’s Bruins broadcasts.
As many of you heard, today @DaleEArnold announced his retirement from the show, and ultimately @WEEI.
— Dale & Keefe (@DaleKeefeWEEI) March 11, 2021
Dale will call select @RedSox games this summer on the station but tomorrow will be his last day on the program.
Here's his announcement: pic.twitter.com/U8VjHAv5ob
WEEI is expected to name Andy Gresh as the midday cohost along with holdover Rich Keefe on Friday.
“Some of you know this and some of you don’t,” said Arnold at the end of the show, “My wife had to retire from her employment in September; she’s had some medical issues. And you start thinking about things.
Arnold estimated he has done 29,000 hours of sports-talk radio in his 33-year career in the Boston market.
“And I’ve had enough," he said.
He said he declined an offer to do some part-time hosting work on the station, but said he will return occasionally to call Red Sox games this summer.
Arnold is the second personality this week to depart WEEI, which has struggled in recent years in its ratings battle with competitor 98.5 The Sports Hub. Morning show cohost Danielle Murr announced Wednesday that this is her final week at the station.
“No one has the expansive experience covering this town’s sports landscape than Dale Arnold,” Mark Hannon, regional president of Entercom Communications, said in a statement.
Arnold has been a host in several different roles through the years at the station since first arriving in September 1991 when it flipped to an all-sports format.
He has primarily hosted midday programming, first with Eddie Andelman, and then with Bob Neumeier and Michael Holley. Since August 2018, he has been paired with Keefe in midday.
During his 30 years at the station, there was only one brief stretch from 2011-13 when Arnold was not a full-time daily host. In February 2011, Arnold and Holley were broken up as the midday program, with Holley moving to afternoon drive with Glenn Ordway, and Arnold moving to a fill-in/weekend role.
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