Old Radio

Early American baseball never had quite the voice it did in announcer Bill Stern . Born on July 1, 1907, Bill Stern would lead a life of sportscasting and baseball announcing that very few in his genre ever eclipsed. By 1988, 17 years after his passing in 1971, Bill Stern would be inducted into the National Radio Hall of Fame . Stern started doing on-air broadcasting in 1925 for a Rochester, New York radio station. in 1937, Stern went to work for NBC doing boxing commentating on the Colgate Sports Newsreel . As one of the big names in radio sportscasting, Stern developed a theme of making on-air stories that were never authenticated in any form. He would give the acknowledgement that whether the stories were true or not; “might be actual, may be mythical, but definitely interesting.” A car accident in 1935 caused Bill Stern to have one leg amputated; but, it never stopped him from his on-air work. He had opportunity to be the on-air sports commentator for NBC Newsreels....

February 6: Happy Birthday, Ronald Reagan Inventing the cotton gin was one of the only things Ronald Reagan didn't do. The actor, governor, and president actually began his career as a radio announcer. It all began for Dutch Reagan in 1932 when WOC from Davenport, Iowa needed someone to call the Iowa-Minnesota homecoming football game. He moved on to WHO , a Des Moines NBC affiliate. Known for sprinkling some humor into his presidential communiques, Reagan honed his comic style, in addition to his television appearances, on the radio. As he became a relatively big name on the tube, he began, as many TV stars did, appearing on some of the big radio shows. His appearance on Lux Radio Theatre teamed him future wife Jane Wyman for an adaptation of Nobody Lives Forever. The Gipper also guested on The Bing Crosby Show, The Burns and Allen Show , Suspense , and Colgate Sports Newsreel . Later, The Great Communicator would broadcast many presidential speeches .  Rea...