Re: WHIL and country

["Kevin Vahey" <kvahey@mediaone.net>]

The fight in Lewiston, Maine happened on May 25, 1965.

My dad was working for ATT long lines then, and this fight a logistical
nightmare. Back then it was a major feat to get live pictures into the
system north of Portland, there simply were not the facilities in place.
Plus all the extra audio hookups and phone lines for the print media was a
nightmare for New England Telephone in a small Maine city.

Why the fight ended up in Maine is one of Boston's great mysteries. It was
supposed to be at the Boston Garden, but then Suffolk County DA Garrett
Byrne implied it was fixed and the promoters scrambled to find a high school
hockey rink in Lewiston at the last minute. Based on what happened in the
ring, the Suffolk DA was properly correct.


> But there was some sort of major shift in WNAC's
> programming several years before 1967. I was a great fan
> of Jonathan Schwartz (later of WNEW (AM) and WQEW; now
> of XM Satellite radio). He did evenings on WNAC, and I
> remember that his program ended _right_ after a
> heavyweight title bout that took place, in, of all
> places, Lewiston, ME. Schwartz missed his show so he
> could drive up to Lewiston to attend the fight. The next
> evening he returned to announce that his show was
> ending. I distinctly remember that that event took place
> while Ruth and I were living in Belmont, which would
> place it before November 1964.