Contributor Steve Tefft added this scratchy recording of the late Sportscaster Pete Franklin at the place that made him famous. Steve writes:
…{this} is from January 26th, 1976. The Cleveland Crusaders were the city’s World Hockey Association team. Its general manager, Jack Vivian, had just (that day) cut Gerry Cheevers, the team’s goalie and only real box office draw(Cheevers played for the Boston Bruins before jumping leagues). Franklin lays into Vivian on this check.
Do what you can to clean the airchecks up; not sure what you can do to remove static. Remember, I recorded this at night in southern Connecticut, hundreds of miles away.
1100 AM Cleveland is now WTAM.
we were on our way back to our motel in the summer of ’76, and I had 3WE on the car radio. Some years back (for all I know there still is) a station (in Georgia, I believe) with the WWWE call letters, and even better (drum roll), it was 1100. Yes, 1100 in Cleveland is WTAM, moreover, those were its original calls, but in the intervening years, it was KYW and WKYC. It went through several format changes during that time, including a stint as country. Also, during the psychedelic era, it was branded as “Heavy 11”.
Checked at 11:37 pm EST on 1-28-15, and WWWE is 1100, in Atlanta
One other thing. Ironically, today’s WWWE must sign off at midnight so as to avoid interference with WTAM.
Given that Pete’s reputation in general is how he was such a miserable failure in New York on WFAN (his firing made way for the phenom that was Mike and the Mad Dog) I’m glad for his fans sake there is some evidence of his earlier work.
I’ve got quite a bit of Franklin archives of varying clarity.