Friday, April 25, 2025

Where are they now?



It's the spring of 1980 and WKGN 1340 featured Jeff Winters in the morning...also behind the mic were Chuck Edwards, Chris Adams, Keith Brunson, Joey Birchfield, and Richard Swan. 



Fast forward 45 years and Jeff is still on the radio at- WHIN Sumner County's #1 Hit Music Station. (think the greater Nashville area).

Jeff Works the evening shift Monday thru Thursday and middays on the weekend. Oh, his radio name is Jeff Shannon.

Friday, April 18, 2025

Hold That Line

Hey George...the sports score show was probably "Hold That Line" with Chuck Ketron , was on WETE 620. (Bob Poland)

The show was High School Hold That Line. I believe it was hosted by Chuck Ketron and Ken Johnson. (Jay Wormsley)

The Saturday call in sports show on AM 620 was "Hold That Line". They had several people answering the phones and giving out scores. One of the running gags on the show was several people would call in each week wanting the score in the Slippery Rock game. (Glenn McNish).




Wednesday, April 16, 2025

Page 3...

Here are a couple of bits and bacon pieces via our 101 Page 3...Erik Ainge VFL great and The Sports Animal broadcaster reposted my X/Twitter post. I keep a very low profile but have a few famous followers, including former Governor Bill Haslam! (follow me @talkgeorge, I will follow back).

 



Can anyone answer KC's question...

Hey George, do you remember a Friday night or Saturday call in show for high school sports scores?  I remember it was on 620 and some callers disappointed at the score, got past the 7 second delay (KC)

Sunday, April 13, 2025


It's 1969 in Ktown...and the radio wars are alive and kickin', or is it rockin'!

This newspaper ad was placed by WKGN 1340. 

As you can see, several stations could claim fame and victory depending on the daypart. 

Were you behind a mic in '69?

Saturday, April 12, 2025

Nico Iamaleava exiting takes the monkey off of Lane Kiffin's back as the Biggest Orange ars to leave...

Tennessee Volunteers football always was and always will be...

General Neyland

Peyton Manning

Doug Atkins

Reggie White

George Cafego

Johnny Majors

Condredge Holloway

Gene McEver

Doug Dickey

Al Wilson

Jason Witten

Phillip Fulmer

Leonard Little

Tim Priest

Heath Shuler

Willie Gault

Bobby Scott

Fuad Reveiz

Tim Irwin

Eric Berry

Todd Helton

Erik Ainge

John Henderson

Josh Dobbs

Tee Martin


...and don't forget Bobby Denton as PA announcer with George Mooney and John Ward as the Voice of the Vols- "Vols For Life"

Go Vols!!!



Saturday, March 29, 2025

Did you know...

Back in 1970 Don Bowman had an "outdoor" show on WROL 1490. It was on the air twice daily, at 745a and 525p! Don's interviews mixed hunting and fishing tips with outdoor ideas!

Monday, March 10, 2025

The Life and Times of The Big 99

The station went on the air in 1921 as WNAV. It was Tennessee's first radio station and one of the first ten in the USA.

In 1925 the effort was on to change the call letters to KNOX. That plan morphed in to becoming WNOX...The Voice of the Smokies!

In 1927 power erupted via WNOX strengthening to 2500 watts, second in TN only to WSM Nashville...it was noted that with the boost, the station could be heard in Cuba! 

1930 saw the studios being moved to the Andrew Johnson Hotel, the seventeenth floor to be exact.

Scripps-Howard became the owner in 1935, and the station really took off with shows like the Midday Merry Go Round and the Saturday Night Barn Dance.

Many careers were launched at WNOX including Chet Atkins, Archie Campbell and Flatt & Scruggs.

Through the decades many voices boomed through the dial position...Lowell Blanchard, Ron Ashburn, Johnny Pirkle, Dave Young, and Phil Williams, just to name a few.

In 2010 I finally got to have my voice vibrate thru WNOX...at that time it was as NewsTalk 100.3 and featured the Ed and Bob Show in the morning. I visited them and like every other guest on their morning show, I brought hot donuts, ha. 

These days the call letters are housed at Classic Rock 93.1.

6-10 Ray Gee and Kobe
10-3 MJ
3-7 Ricky Aaron
7-12 Phil Thompson




Saturday, March 08, 2025

Bob Kesling and Bert Bertelkamp call their last home radio basketball game today at Thompson Boling Arena. The Batman and Robin of Big Orange broadcasting have shared the airwaves since 1999.

I graduated from Bearden High School with Bert and throughout college I worked with Bob at WIVK. Legendary DJ Your Dave Young fondly referred to Kesling as "Buckeye Bob" always celebrating Bob's Ohio roots.

PS... MONEY!

Tuesday, March 04, 2025


Many remember Cas Walker for his grocery store commercials..."Cas Walker's Melons Are Thumpin' Good". 

Cas was also a politician and broadcaster! Here are the Ktown radio shows on February 3, 1958...



Monday, February 17, 2025

Margie Ison...RIP


 The weather forecast in Heaven is 101% sunshine!

Thursday, February 13, 2025

The House of Sneed...101 contributor Alan Douglas Sneed~

Great rundown of WKGN in 1976. Can you believe it was almost 50 years ago?

Bro’ Mick Rizzo and I have been friends since 15Q, and he has come through Indianapolis a couple of times. Here we are in 2022!

Your post about Chip’s Heavy Chevy mishap reminded me of a similar experience I had in 1977 with the WKGN “De-can Van,” which we were giving away by doing registrations when listeners turned in cans for recycling. The garage at the back of the property we were renting in Fountain City was set on fire by arsonists, and it also burned my ski boat, which was parked between the garage and the van. I remember calling Rumore to tell him, and he was not happy. The van was okay, but did smell like smoke. Like the Heavy Chevy, we gave it away shortly after the incident. RIP, Vic. 

Alan

Monday, February 10, 2025

 George,

Your post about Allen Stout has led me down a research rabbit hole. I’m probably going to write up a detailed summary of his career, but I have determined that he should get more recognition as a “Voice of the Vols.” Here are some highlights of what I have found so far. 

He was a graduate of Central High School and began his radio career on WNOX while still a student. In 1936, he helped to originate high school football broadcasts in Knoxville on the radio. Stout was then on WROL and Horace (Mike) Hunnicutt called games that first year on WNOX. He first began calling UT football and basketball games in 1937 and also for a few years in the 1940s. Broadcast rights to UT football typically switched hands between local stations prior to the founding of the Vol Network. Stout had several years' experience as the “Voice of the Vols” before officially becoming the Vol Network announcer in 1951. He also did football games for the University of Virginia for two years and possibly Ohio State prior to 1951. The News-Sentinel reported that he twice turned down a MLB play by play job with the Philadelphia Phillies to stay in Knoxville He eventually left Knoxville in 1952 to go to WLW in Cincinnati. 

Stout gained national notoriety in 1946 for his live news coverage of the “Battle of Athens” where the corrupt Athens, TN political machine was violently overthrown by a group of WWII veterans. Stout stayed in the air for hours as a gun fight raged between the veterans and corrupt local law enforcement. This broadcast could be one of the most significant moments of early Knoxville radio history. Stout is also credited for naming Roy Acuff’s band “The Crazy Tennesseans” during a broadcast on WROL. 

Stout died in 1969 in Cincinnati at the age of 52. A deeper look at his career shows that he was a pioneer of sports broadcasting in Knoxville. He did broadcast UT football games for several seasons prior to 1951 and should be celebrated with the other Voices of the Vols. 

   

Russell Mayes

WKCS Radio