who's on the radio...

50 years ago, WOKI-FM 100 made a big splash in the Knoxville radio market. Johnny Pirkle's Oak Ridge powerhouse debuted with top 40 music and an automated DJ system (the precursor to voice tracking).

Fast forward to the 21st century and Pirkle had the 100.3 FM dial sounding great with a news/talk format featuring two legends, Ed Brantley and Bob Thomas, hosting the morning show as Ed and Bob.

Fast forward again and the popular news/talk format sits at 98.7 FM as WOKI-FM aka NewsTalk 987.

Here's the line up...

6 Phil Williams

10 Bob Yarbrough

12 Dan Bongino

3 Hallerin Hilton Hill

7 Sean Hannity

9 Mark Levin

1 Red Eye Radio

...and Bob Thomas fills in for all day parts!

Hey George, this is the longest of long shots - but I'll ask anyway.

I bring this up because you mentioned Art Metzler in your Ktown post this morning.

In 1958, the Oak Ridge football team played probably the biggest game in the history of Tennessee high school football. The game was in Oak Ridge and WATE TV televised the game on replay Saturday. Art was the play-by-play guy. Art was also in the first group of announcers at the newly formed WATO radio in Oak Ridge in 1947 (I think).  

The Oak Ridge football team was put into the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame in 2022 - the first high school team in any sport in the history of Tennessee to get into the TNSHoF -- so quite an accomplishment.  

Now my question: Now it's been 66 years since that game, and nobody has ever found a copy of the game that was put on TV. It may not exist. Would I start by contacting WATE? I have sent some emails to them but have never gotten even a response. Would the station have a vault where they keep media from that long ago?

BTW, WATO requested the call letters WBOM (bomb) but was rejected. 

Earl Nall 

Scott Black in the WIVK-FM control room, back in the day when the station was located on Bearden Hill!

When Cliff asks, 101 answers...

101 Ace Contributor George Cliff Hudson asked when/where/how Lindsey Nelson fit into the Vols PBP history? 

Just an fyi...until very recently all these pages have solely been filled via my journals, memories and from our contributors. I recently subscribed to newspapers dot com, and there is a plethora of information lurking in the back logs of newspapers from yesteryear.  I would equate newspapers from days gone by as the equivalent and mixture of Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter aka X. 

Lindsey Nelson preceded George Mooney as Vols play by play announcer, taking on those tasks in 1948 when WKGN 1340 was selected to be the flagship. Nelson was a sports announcer at the station. Some classic stations were carrying the games...WGAP, WATO, WCRK, WKPT, etc. 

Fast forward to this date (August 19) in 1952 and George Mooney from Memphis was announced as the new PBP announcer with Art Metzler as color commentary. WROL AM 620kc was the mother ship! Mooney was selected by Vols AD General Robert Neyland.

Go Vols... it's football time in Tennessee!

Did you know...

In April 1968 John Ward was named to replace George Mooney as the football voice of the Vols. 

Mooney had called the Vols games for 16 seasons. 

Ward, a Knoxville native, was a UT law school graduate and was a VP at Lavidge, Davis, and Newman. 

Ward had already been the radio voice behind the mic at UT basketball games for 5 seasons. 

At that time the Vols games were broadcast on WATE 620 AM radio.

...and back in the day (early 1950's)- John was the Sports Director at WKGN 1340, he provided PBP for high school football, pro football, and even Smokies baseball. In December 1954 he joined the Army!

Chief Engineer Milton Jones (WIVK 860 kc)

 

It's January 1985 in Ktown...

The new year kicks off (literally) with Lindsey Nelson and Pat Haden calling the Cotton Bowl on CBS.

WIMZ's line up consisted of Phil Williams 6-10, Keith Lambert (PD) 10-2, Scott Paulson 2-7, George Allen 7-12, and Dave Ball 12-6.

On the TV tube...WATE was known as Team 6...Sam Brown and Mike Thurman were nightly anchors, Scott Sams was on weather and Alan Williams sports. The noon 'casters were Bob Gray and Kim Simmons (Thomas). On the weekend the anchor was Diane May, weather with Carole Stannard, and Greg Peterson sports.

The Today Show was in its prime with Bryant Gumbel, Jane Pauley, John Palmer, and Willard Scott.

WIVK was riding high as the #1 rated country station in America and was led by Claude Tomlinson, Bob Thomas, Ed Brantley, Laura Paul, Terry Womack, Jean Ash, Channing Smith, Beecher Bailey, Joe Grant and Bob Love. Bobby Denton was in charge but was now behind the scenes.

January 21 was Ronald Reagan's 2nd inauguration, the lead network TV anchors were Peter Jennings ABC, Dan Rather CBS, and Tom Brokaw NBC.

...my Bearden High classmate Rusty Ensor was sports anchor at WTVK Channel 26.

mE, I had traded in my platters for platters, and was entrenched in my restaurant leadership career as manager at Grady's Goodtimes, right down the street from the WIVK studios.

Where were you in January 1985?

 It's March 1953 and WIVK is on the air. (foto via Knoxville Journal)

Bill Miller 1950-2024...RIP Suitcase Simpson!

 

Back in 1978 I was working weekends at WIVK as was Suitcase Simpson. Suitcase aka Bill Miller went on to DJ and Program Director at WKGN and WMYU.

During his on-air career Bill used some groovy DJ names...Bill Miller, Suitcase Simpson, Stan Cassidy, Lincoln Smith, Bad Willie Soul, and perhaps even more!

Here are some of Bill's stops along the way. BTW- I gathered this info from him back in '78! It all started at WCPH Etowah followed by WMTM in Morristown.

Bill did 4 years at the legendary WFLI in Chattanooga as PD and afternoons. During his Chatta time he also worked at WGOW. 

Skipping ahead Bill went to WIFE in Indianapolis for one year and had the #1 rated night show there. His on-air name was Lincoln Smith.

Bill next headed back to WFLI followed by WGIV Charlotte and then WKY Oklahoma City working nights for 2 years as Bill Miller.

Returning to East TN for school Suitcase worked at WOKI afternoons, nights at WIVK, a stint at 15Q (with everyone else) and then back to WIVK. (note- a few stops along the way are not listed).

What a trip up and down the radio dials, thank goodness he had his Suitcase!

As 101 heads into the first football weekend of the 2008 college season, we feature stories from Chip Emerson, Suitcase Simpson, and Dave Young~

Great to hear from Jean Ash-I was at 'KGN with her when all this was going on -- man was that a golden time at 'KGN even with Vic. Great names on the air and off --- Andy Reeves, David Vantrease, Nancy Kirk, Joe Anderson (the Warlock), Dave Young, The Beachman, Wayne Bernard, Frank Erwin, Ricky (the stick) Davis, all night guy Kerry Lambert...... the list goes on and on. George Mooney's son Pat and I were college roommates, I have some great stories about George. (Chip Emerson)

Re Chad Austin’s question: I've heard about the shooting incident at the Whittle Springs studio so often that I assume it was real. A disgruntled ex-WNOX jock who is a friend of mine has been widely reported as the culprit. Although I suspect the statute of limitations has long expired (as well as several of the WNOX staffers of the time) on the incident I don’t think he has ever admitted it publicly. If it was indeed he who did the deed, it was only one of several colorful tricks in his radio career. For the record, I never worked at WNOX. (Bill Miller; I Am Still Suitcase Simpson)

Good stuff from Jean, and yes the new G.M. was a D.H. It seems from the get go that he was out for some people, but that is another story. My move to the famous 1340 was quick and decisive. Bob Baron had been after me for some time and things at the Big 99 were going to pot. I had talked to Baron about 8 in the morning and said, hey the offer is on the table. Come on over and you can start 7-Midnight and I'll pay you XXXX which was a great deal more than 'NOX. I told Bob that I would give it some thought and get back to him. He told me that he would like to know by early afternoon. I went to lunch at Harold's on Gay St. and Pete (WNOX GM) was there. He asked me about the Gladys Knight record, if I had re-recorded it and I told him no. Long story short, he started riding my behind and one thing led to another and another, so at 3 when I went on the air I called Baron and said I'm on my way. Bob started a promo at 3:05 that said...The famous 1340..Where Your Dave Is now Our Dave. (Dave Young)

101 wants to hear from you...send photographs and memories to KtownRadio@gmail.com.

It's October 1976 and Eddie Beacon is playing disc jockey at 15Q (WKVQ 1490).

Other DJs at The Q are Chuck Baron, Suitcase Simpson, Charlie Fox, Shotgun Kelley, Ron Baptist, and The Brothers.

Thanks to Amos Pigg for sending this exclusive to the 101 Audio Vault...

 

 

Great story about doing overnights on WKGN in the mid-60s. Oddly, I got a feeler from 'KGN around 1965/66 when I was in Terre Haute. John Patton was one of Sully's jocks at the time and he wanted me to send a tape to the station. John and I had worked together. Vietnam was getting red hot, and I was in college at Indiana State, giving me a 2-S temporary retrieve from the army. I was afraid the timing wouldn't work, and I'd get drafted before I could get into UT if I made the move.

Even stranger was that impulse eventually got me to WKGN. By 1969, my 2-S had become Y-1 (women and children first) because of childhood polio. By that time, Joe Sullivan was the PD at WMAK, which Mooney Broadcasting had bought in Nashville. I had sent a tape a few years earlier and he remembered he liked it. He told me to send a new one to Skip Broussard, who was then programming 'KGN. Two weeks later, I was on the road to Ktown.

Thanks for hangin' with The Possum

It's 1984 and WIVK AM 850 is now WHIG...