Re: Boston's first radio announcer on WNAC radio

[Donna Halper <dlh@donnahalper.com>]

>Don S., who always finds interesting stuff at the BPL, wrote--
>
>McClosky, David Blair (1902-1988)
>
>  He was Bostons first radio announcer on WNAC radio.

Ah yes, and that sound you hear is the late great Eunice Randall spinning 
in her grave, along with Eddie Dunham and the rest of the staff at WGI, 
which was on the air a full year before WNAC.  But I know what they are 
going to say at Special Collections-- they will say that whatever the donor 
of the material said is what they put on the information sheet.  Well, when 
I donate my materials, I will say I was the Queen of France!  Anyway, as 
far as I know, when WNAC went on the air on 31 July 1922, the late John 
Shepard 3rd (the father of us all) and his chief announcer John J. Fanning 
did the talking.  But of course, all the Boston newspapers could have been 
wrong on this...

Meanwhile, I did my good deed and corrected the boston.com website-- they 
originally had an item claiming the first Boston Marathon was broadcast in 
1920.  I enquired as to how this was possible when neither KDKA nor 1XE was 
able to do remotes yet.  In fact, as I told Peter Casey, WBZ didn't 
officially begin airing the marathons till 1931-- and WEEI, which did it 
first, only started doing so circa 1928.  I have listings of stations doing 
marathon REPORTS in 1925, but start-to-finish coverage in 1920?  Not 
likely.  The entry vanished several days later; my thanks to all concerned.