D/FW Radio: WBAP's Hal Jay Gets New Heart

WBAP's Hal Jay

Hal Jay, the longtime WBAP 820AM Morning News co-host, told listeners Tuesday that he has a new heart. 

The Hall of Fame radio personality has been off the air since Jan. 10 when he collapsed at home from an irregular heart rhythm. He was put on the heart transplant list after he suffered another incident at Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas a few days later. 

The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports Jay told listeners from the hospital on Tuesday that he feels good and may get to go home sooner than expected. 

“I want to thank God,” the 69-year-old said. “Please sign up to be an organ donor.” Jay underwent heart transplant surgery at 1 a.m. Saturday, according to his wife Ann.  By 5 a.m. he was back in his room.

 “It’s just been awesome,” Ann said Tuesday in a phone call to WBAP. “It seems like a dream.” Jay said he hopes to be back on the air in a few weeks. He thanked God, saying “prayers work,” and expressed gratefulness for his doctors and other caregivers at Baylor. “I don’t even know how to describe them,” he said. 

“They’re angels, and they get up every day and save lives.” 

According to Jay’s online bio, the Fort Worth native started his broadcast career as a teenager in Liberal, Kansas. He worked at stations in Fort Worth and Memphis before joining WBAP in 1981. His laugh has been called “the most recognizable laugh in the Metroplex,” according to his bio. Jay and his wife will celebrate 50 years of marriage in June.