Saturday, April 26, 2014

590 MIGHTY MEMORY #402

WARM AND THE RED BARONS 

Tonight marks the 25th anniversary of the first game at Lackawanna County Stadium featuring the Red Barons vs. the Tidewater Tides. With baseball and now two stadiums being here this long, the temptation is to think that baseball was here forever. But it wasn’t. It took a lot of hard work to get this effort accomplished. Attorney John McGee founded Northeast baseball, then shepherded the effort to bring triple A baseball to Northeastern Pennsylvania. There was political opposition but with the cooperation of funding from both counties, the new Stadium became a reality. 
However as opening day approached, the powers that be knew they had to deliver seats in the stands. The Red Barons Management asked the local media to do them a favor. Lead every sportscast with what the Red Barons were doing that day or night if there wasn’t a huge national or international sports story. And for that first year the media acquiesced. 
WARM Radio was one of the leaders in being a big cheerleader for the new home team. Even though other radio outlets had the rights to the broadcast of the games, WARM Radio did a live broadcast for every home game for that first season. The Mighty 590 in 1989 had become a hybrid format with music in the morning and then sports in the afternoon and talk or Phillies baseball later on in the evening. WARM staffers Ron Allen, Kelly Reed and Joe Thomas before he went to WILK covered Red Barons games dissecting each move and inning. Kent Westling the first play by play man on Red Barons baseball did 20/20 on the Mighty 590 too adding an extra punch of local flavor. 


Ron Allen at the Opening Night at Lackawanna County Stadium. (Photo Andy Palumbo.) 


 Here's a photo of WARM's Joe Thomas, now of WILK interviewing the Red Baron's first manager John Dancy. (Photo: Joe Thomas Facebook page).


The first Barons play by play announcer, Kent Westling. (Photo: Scranton Times).


Kelly Reed and long time Red Baron favorite Floyd Rayford. (Photo: LuLac archives).   
Twenty five years later the success of baseball in Northeastern Pennsylvania seems like a no brainer today. But during that first year, WARM Radio and its dedicated, knowledgeable sports staff beat the drums for baseball in Northeastern Pennsylvania, aka WARMland. 

Friday, April 18, 2014

590 MIGHTY MEMORY #403

GOOD FRIDAY AND WARM 


It is but a distant memory. Years ago on Good Friday stores would close. TV's were turned off. Radios too. But WARM Radio promoted a 3 hour devotional solemn program in the mid 60s to mark the day. This ended around 1968 but prior to that, WARM shut down the rock and pop and devoted the noon to 3 pm time slot to the day that Christians consider it be one of the most important in their liturgy.

590 MIGHTY MEMORY #404

TOM AND FRAN AT 50 

Our congratulations to Tom Woods and his lovely wife Fran on the occasion of their 50th anniversary. These two crazy kids were married when Tom was a personality on the Mighty 590 and Fran was at WNEP TV. Their love has endured and that is a great thing. 


Here is a photo of Tom and Fran today. 


Friends made a special cake featuring their Wedding photo. 
And when Tom and Fran tied the knot, On the Billboard Hot 100 dated 50 years ago this - April 4, 1964 - the Beatles made history as the only act ever to monopolize the chart's top five positions. The Billboard Hot 100, April 4, 1964 was:
1, "Can't Buy Me Love" No. 2, "Twist and Shout" No. 3, "She Loves You" No. 4, "I Want to Hold Your Hand" No. 5, "Please Please Me" .