The clout of Bruce Bradley

[Bud Yacomb]

If I recall correctly, Lightfoot was well regarded.  He had plans to
syndicate the Sports Huddle after he left BZ to go to San Diego, but then
died unexpectedly.  In Boston, he was replaced by Yanoff, who yielded to
pressure from the Boston Bruins, which at the time owned the city, and
gassed Andelman & co. Mainella defended management on his program (my
favorite line: "I've been in this business 17 years and let me tell you
something. There is absolutely no chance that a CBS O & O like 'EEI will
ever take a chance on something like the Sports Huddle."  Six weeks later
they began a run of ten years or so on that same CBS O & O).  Win Baker
(called by Tom Snyder "the meanest man in broadcasting from his days at
KYW-TV) was the TV GM at the time. He left, I think to be President of the
Group W Television stations, Yanoff took over TV and Bill Cusak took over
radio.  Cusak was married to McGannon's daughter and suddenly left the
company.  Bill Hartman took over and immediately shook things to the core --
BZ had fallen to  second place behind Blair's WHDH, and Hartman told the
staff he couldn't tolerate that they were running around acting like they
were number one when they weren't.  First act:  Putting Maynard on
overnights. Maynard blistered management his first night on and was called
in to meet with Group W attorneys and informed that while, yes, he had a
five-yearw on when Blair made a run at him, but no, he wasn't going to do
that again or "we'll keep you off the air and just guess how hot you'll be
after nobody hears you for a few years."  During much of this area, there
was a figurehead Area Vice Chairman, Lamont "Tommy" Thompson who was liked,
but who had no power.

As for Bruce Bradley, he has been negative toward any reunion or nostalgia
project, and in one case was downright nasty to someone who followed up a
letter with a phone call, inviting him to, in effect, be a returning hero at
an on-air reunion. The reason isn't clear.  He left in the early 80s on his
own to go to WYNY (FM), an NBC O & O at the time, and his last segment on
his WBZ PM drive program consisted of playing Stevie Winwood's  "when you
see a chance" and saying "I have left this station twice and both times I
have gone to New York because as the song says, [sneaks song under] ain't
this smooth,  when you see a chance take it, and I have to, and that's the
hard part about leaving this radio station and leaving this city of Boston.
But I am" So if he thinks he's getting some sort of revenge by refusing to
discuss or acknowledge time in Boston he's wrong, because nobody seems to
know why he seems bitter.  It's kind of sad, in a pathetic sort of way.