History of Broadcasting BlogLatest Posts
Our blog commemorates the history of broadcasting from the Golden Age of Radio to the Early Days of Television. We cover the people and stations who made history especially those from the Cincinnati area.
New Hope for Old Media
Media Heritage is proud to be the repository of thousands of transcription discs—large, 16” diameter, acetate-coated recordings that were the primary, if not exclusive, recording media for radio in the 1930s and ‘40s. Many of the discs are in excellent condition, despite their age and the fact that they were... Continue Reading »
Richard “Red” Skelton
100 years ago today (July 18th), Richard “Red” Skelton was born in Vincennes, Indiana. For many he occupies a niche of fond memories and sweet smiles. His television variety program in the 1960s was a must-see, weekly event in many households. How many remember, with glassy eyes, his closing comment... Continue Reading »
Whatever happened to Roma Wines?
Fans of Mystery Playhouse and Suspense are no strangers to the sponsor Roma Wines. Have you ever wondered what became of Roma Wines? Schenley (the makers of Roma) were the sponsor of Suspense from December 02, 1943 to November 20, 1947. The familiar ads during Suspense boasted that the wine... Continue Reading »
Curing baldness in the 1930s
Recently, Media Heritage's Mike Martini acquired a 1937, a vintage device promoted as a cure for baldness. Powel Crosley Jr., who was follicly challenged himself, used the device every day. Fred Astaire reportedly had one and it's rumored that George Gershwin used one to ease headaches from his doomed bout... Continue Reading »
Marty Brennaman
Our springtime look at Cincinnati Reds radio announcers of the past concludes with the longest tenured announcer—Marty Brennaman. Franchester Martin Brennaman was born in Portsmouth, Virginia in 1942. After graduating from the University of North Carolina in the mid-1960s, Brennaman got into broadcasting sports, including the 1970 Virginia Squires of... Continue Reading »
Joe Nuxhall
To say Joe Nuxhall is one of the most famous individuals ever affiliated with the Cincinnati Reds is an understatement. “Nuxy” was one of those personalities who enjoyed overwhelming popularity. That popularity seemed to increase as the years passed, even beyond his death November 15, 2007 at the age of... Continue Reading »
Al Michaels
In late 1970, after three years as primary Cincinnati Reds play-by-play announcer, Jim McIntyre returned to Indianapolis (he was sports director at WFBM-TV), leaving a vacancy in the radio booth of the newly christened Riverfront Stadium. The Reds had just won the Pennant and lost the World Series but was... Continue Reading »
Claude Sullivan
There's no telling how long Claude Sullivan would have been the primary play-by-play announcer for the Cincinnati Reds. When he was hired by Burger to share the booth with Waite Hoyt in 1964, Sullivan was already widely known for his broadcasts of University of Kentucky basketball and football games. In... Continue Reading »
Lee Allen
Not everyone has the good fortune of turning their hobby into a career, but Lee Allen did. Leland Gaither Allen was born in Cincinnati in 1915 and was a regular at old Redland Field as a boy, in part because his father was a lawyer and three term Congressman. The... Continue Reading »
Waite Hoyt
When Waite Hoyt auditioned for a baseball announcing job at Cincinnati's WKRC Thanksgiving weekend 1941, he had already planned with his agent that he would spend only one or two years in the Queen City. Waite had retired a few years before from his (eventual) Hall of Fame pitching career... Continue Reading »
Roger Baker
In December 1938, popular Cincinnati Reds announcer Red Barber turned down an offer to remain in Cincinnati and headed east to broadcast for his old friend Branch Rickey and the Brooklyn Dodgers. Left with a hole to fill, WSAI/WLW conducted a national search for an announcer who could take Barber's... Continue Reading »
Dick Bray
By the time Dick Bray got into sports broadcasting, he was already well known in the Cincinnati athletics community. Born in Hyde Park, a Cincinnati suburb, in 1903, Bray was a three-sport star at Xavier University. He played 2nd base for the Comello Clothiers 1928 National Amateur Championship baseball team,... Continue Reading »