Sports radio in the 1930s

[Donna Halper]

On 10/29/2011 6:11 PM, Garrett Wollman wrote:
> I found the following advertisement in /Broadcasting/ magazine, April
> 15, 1939:
>
> 	[snippage]	Baseball is first in popularity.  Coincidental telephone
> 	surveys show that The Colonial Network's play-by-play
> 	broadcasts of American and National League games have by far
> 	the largest afternoon audience of any New England radio
> 	feature.  This year, with Frankie Frisch, former major league
> 	manager, announcing, the Colonial stations are sure to
> 	increase this tremendous following.
>    

Beginning in about 1928 and continuing through the mid-1930s, the 
play-by-play was done by Fred Hoey.  Shepard and Hoey had a very 
tumultuous relationship, and Shepard fired Hoey several times in the 
early 1930s; but the fans demanded his reinstatement and Shepard brought 
him back.  By 1938-1939, the situation was untenable, evidently, because 
Shepard hired Frankie Frisch.  He only lasted a year, I believe.  
(Shepard was notoriously hard to get along with, as old-timers can 
attest.  He paid well, however, and when he fired you, you didn't 
necessarily stay fired.)