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WGR Sports Radio 550
Image:WGR AM.jpg
City of license Buffalo
Broadcast area Western New York
Branding "WGR Sports Radio 550"
Slogan Western New York's Sports Leader
Frequency 550 (kHz)
First air date May 22, 1922
Format Sports radio
Power 5 kW
Class B
Callsign meaning W George Rand
Affiliations ESPN Radio
Westwood One
Premiere Radio Networks
Buffalo Sabres
Owner Entercom Communications
Webcast LiquidCompass
Website WGR550.com

WGR, or WGR Sports Radio 550, is an all sports radio station in Buffalo, New York that broadcasts on 550 AM. A city of license or community of license, in American and Canadian broadcasting is the community that a Radio station or Television station Buffalo (ˈbʌfəloʊ is the second largest city in New York State. Western New York refers to the westernmost region of New York State. A slogan is a memorable Motto or Phrase used in a Political, commercial, Religious and other context as a repetitive expression of Frequency is a measure of the number of occurrences of a repeating event per unit Time. The hertz (symbol Hz) is a measure of Frequency, informally defined as the number of events occurring per Second. Events 334 BC - The Greek army of Alexander the Great defeats Darius III of Persia in the Battle of the Granicus. Year 1922 ( MCMXXII) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. This article is about Broadcast radio, for other uses see Radio (disambiguation. Sports radio (or sports talk radio) is a Radio format devoted entirely to Discussion and Broadcasting of sporting events. Nominal power is a Measurement of a Mediumwave Radio station 's output used in the United States. The watt (symbol W) is the SI derived unit of power, equal to one Joule of energy per Second. This is a list of broadcast station classes applicable in much of North America under international agreements between the United States, Canada and In Broadcasting and Radio communications a call sign (also known as a callsign or call letters, or abbreviated as a call, or otherwise ESPN Radio is an American sports Radio network. It was launched on January 1, 1992 under the original banner of "SportsRadio Westwood One ( is an American Radio network. It is based in New York City, and it was previously managed by CBS Radio, the Radio Premiere Radio Networks is an American Radio network. It is the largest syndication company in the United States based on popularity of The Buffalo Sabres are a professional Ice hockey team based in Buffalo New York. Entercom Communications Corporation ( is the fourth-largest broadcasting company in the United States A webcast is a media file distributed over the Internet using Streaming media technology A website (alternatively web site or Web site, a back-construction from the Proper noun World Wide Web) is a collection of Web pages Sport is an Activity that is governed by a set of rules or Customs and often engaged in competitively This article is about radio broadcasting for other uses see Radio (disambiguation. Buffalo (ˈbʌfəloʊ is the second largest city in New York State. It is the flagship station of the Buffalo Sabres and the Buffalo Bandits, and is currently the only full-time sports talk station in the city of Buffalo. The Buffalo Sabres are a professional Ice hockey team based in Buffalo New York. The Buffalo Bandits are a team in the National Lacrosse League (NLL Its transmitters are located in Hamburg, New York. Hamburg is a Town in Erie County, New York, United States. As of the 2000 census the town had a total population of 56259

Contents

History

Early years

The history of one of Buffalo’s earliest radio stations has its roots at sea. On April 1, 1921 the sailing vessel, "The Governor," sank to the bottom of the Pacific Ocean. Events 527 - Byzantine Emperor Justin I names his nephew Justinian I as co-ruler and successor to the throne Year 1921 ( MCMXXI) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display full 1921 calendar of the Gregorian calendar The ship’s assigned radio call letters were WGR. Due to maritime superstition, the call sign was never reissued and reverted back to a pool of available call signs for new radio stations.

That same year, the Federal Telephone & Telegraph Company (FTTC), headquartered in a sprawling manufacturing complex in North Buffalo, began marketing its first, completely assembled radio sets. To fill a radio void in the city, and to stimulate sales of their new "high-tech" products, the FTTC applied for (and received) a commercial radio license from the Department of Commerce. The station was named "WGR" after George Rand (founder of Remington Rand), a key investor in the FTTC. Remington Rand (1927–1955 was an early American Computer manufacturer best known as the original maker of the UNIVAC I, and now part of Unisys On May 22, 1922, the WGR broadcast commenced, beginning more than 85 years of continuous service to Western New York and Southern Ontario. Events 334 BC - The Greek army of Alexander the Great defeats Darius III of Persia in the Battle of the Granicus. Year 1922 ( MCMXXII) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. Published reports say that the first programs on WGR were: a clergyman’s lecture; a concert from Victor’s Furniture Store showroom; and a presentation on the advantages of a college education by Dr. Julian Park, from the University at Buffalo. State University of New York at Buffalo, commonly known as University at Buffalo (UB is a Coeducational public research University, which

WGR is the oldest radio station in Buffalo, NY that is still in operation. Buffalo (ˈbʌfəloʊ is the second largest city in New York State. During its days as a full service radio station, its roster of personalities included "Buffalo Bob" Smith, later famous for TV's Howdy Doody children's show, and popular national TV and nightclub comedian Foster Brooks. Buffalo Bob Smith (born Robert Emil Schmidt ( November 27, 1917 – July 30, 1998) was the host of the popular children's show Howdy Doody was a children's television program (with a decidedly frontier/western theme although other themes also colored the show Foster Brooks ( May 11 1912 – December 20, 2001) was an American Actor and Comedian most famous for his For many years, WGR was owned by Taft Broadcasting. The Taft Broadcasting Company, also known as Taft Television and Radio Company Incorporated, was a media conglomerate based in Cincinnati Ohio. The station's longtime music format combining Adult Top 40 hits and rock oldies and featured some of Buffalo's top radio personalities, talk hosts and news reporters including [[[1]]], Larry Anderson, Frank Benny, Tom Donahue, Randy Michaels, Jim Scott, Jerry Reo, Shane, Joe Galuski, Tom Langmyer, George Hamberger, Tom Shannon, Tom Bauerle, John Otto, Chuck Lakefield, Sandy Kozel, Don Dussias, Wayne Smith, Jane Tomczak and Craig Matthews gradually evolved to news/talk during the late 1980s and early 1990s. Hot Adult Top 40 Tracks (formerly known as Adult Top 40) is a variation on the United States Billboard charts Oldies is a generic term commonly used to describe a Radio format that usually concentrates on Top 40 music from the 1950s 1960s and 1970s (about 1955-1977 Larry Anderson (born 22 September 1952 in Minnesota) is an American actor magician, and original face Tom "Big Daddy" Donahue ( May 21, 1928 – April 28, 1975) was a pioneering Rock and roll Radio Disc jockey Randy Michaels (born Benjamin Homel is an American broadcasting executive who is the Chief operating officer (COO of the Tribune Company and a member of the Jim Scott is a finger-style guitarist singer/songwriter and composer in the genres of jazz classical and folk music John Otto may refer to John Otto (drummer, an original member of the band Limp Bizkit John Otto (FBI acting director, the acting Wayne Smith is the name of Wayne Smith (politician, Australian politician Wayne Smith (musician, Jamaican Reggae musician Craig Russell Matthews (born 15 February 1965 in Cape Town, Cape Province) is a former South African Cricketer who played In 1987, Taft sold the station to Rich Communications.

The 1990s: News Radio 55

For much of the 1990s, WGR was a successful news/talk station, competing head to head with WBEN-AM 930. From 1990 to 1994, WGR owned the radio broadcast rights to the Buffalo Bills, the Buffalo Sabres and the Buffalo Bisons. The Buffalo Bills four consecutive Super Bowl seasons were broadcast on WGR, whose Program Directors included Chuck Finney (1991-1993), Daryl Parks (1993-1995) and Jim Pastrick (1995-2000).

Through its news-talk era the WGR line-up featured a variety of programs such as Breakfast with Bauerle (Tom Bauerle), The Fabulous Sports Babe, Chuck Dickerson, Art Wander, Extension 55 with John Otto, Ron Dobson (now evenings at WBEN), John and Ken, Rick Emerson, Joey Reynolds, and several other local and national hosts. Nanci Donnellan, best known by her title of " The Fabulous Sports Babe," is a Sports radio broadcaster currently broadcasting on WHBO in the Chuck Dickerson is a former position coach in the National Football League and Canadian Football League and Sports radio host in Buffalo New York John Otto (1929 - 1999 was a Radio talk show host in Buffalo New York. John Chester Kobylt and Kenneth Robertson Chiampou, known professionally as John and Ken are American Talk radio hosts of a four-hour radio Rick Emerson is a Radio personality most known for The Rick Emerson Show, which was broadcast on a number of radio stations in Portland, Joey Reynolds is the Pseudonym of Joey Pinto, host of the US Radio program The Joey Reynolds Show via the WOR Radio Network Syndicated talk radio host Leslie Marshall, controversial talk radio host J. R. Gach and future New York morning drive fixture Craig Carton worked at the station. Leslie Marshall has been a radio talk host since 1988 and a commentator on national television since 2001 Jay Robert "JR" Gach (born April 2 1952 is a controversial Talk radio host and Shock jock from Schenectady New York. Craig Harris Carton (born January 31, 1969 in New Rochelle New York) is an American radio personality The station has been, since the network's inception, an affiliate of ESPN Radio, which it has carried on the weekends since 1992. ESPN Radio is an American sports Radio network. It was launched on January 1, 1992 under the original banner of "SportsRadio

In 1995, Rich Communications sold WGRF 97 Rock to Mercury Radio headed by Charles W. WGRF is a radio station in Buffalo New York, USA The station's on air branding is "97 Rock" Banta. Simultaneously, Rich Communications entered into a Local Marketing Agreement (LMA) with Keymarket Communications. The Federal Communications Commission approved the sale of WGR to Keymarket within twelve months of the LMA. Keymarket also owned WBEN, WMJQ, WWKB and WKSE. Keymarket merged with River City Broadcasting which was purchased by Sinclair Broadcast Group in 1997. River City Broadcasting LP is a major Television and radio station operator in mid-sized markets in the United States based out of St The Sinclair Broadcast Group ( SBG) is the operator of the largest number of local Television stations in the United States with a total of 57 stations Sinclair Broadcast Group sold its entire radio division to Entercom Communications in 1999. The Sinclair Broadcast Group ( SBG) is the operator of the largest number of local Television stations in the United States with a total of 57 stations Entercom Communications Corporation ( is the fourth-largest broadcasting company in the United States In February of 2000, WGR changed formats from News-Talk to Sports-Talk.

Becoming an all sports station

In February 2000 WGR became an all-sports talk radio station. Bauerle, for a short time, was retained and paired with Chris "Bulldog" Parker, who joined from WBEN for the morning show. Chris "Buldog" Parker (born Buffalo New York 1964-) is the co-host of Buffalo's WGR -550's afternoon show from 300 until 700PM along with Mike Schopp Chuck Dickerson maintained his afternoon drive show. Jim Rome, who was added to the WGR line-up in late summer 1998, was retained when WGR switched to all sports. Jim Rome (born James Phillip Rome October 14, 1953) is an Anne Burke, a frequent caller to the station's talk shows, joined Bob Gaughan to co-host middays. Mike Maniscalco and later Brad Riter hosted the evening shift.

From October 2000 to 2004, WGR competed with WNSA-FM, an FM station licensed to Wethersfield, NY in rural Wyoming county (with a 107. WLKK is an FM radio station located in the town of Wethersfield New York. 3 translator in Buffalo). The two stations battled for listeners and the rights to broadcast sporting events. Several teams' broadcasts bounced between the two stations, such as the Bandits, New York Yankees, and Buffalo Destroyers. The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the borough of The Bronx, in New York City, New York. The Columbus Destroyers are an Arena Football League team The Destroyers franchise was founded in Buffalo New York in 1999, and have played in Columbus At one point, WGR was losing the race badly; WNSA was a sister station to the Empire Sports Network and had the same owner (John Rigas) as the Buffalo Sabres, thus giving WNSA a large advantage. Empire Sports Network was a Regional sports network on Cable television which served Upstate New York from Buffalo to Albany, John J Rigas (born November 14, 1924 in Wellsville New York) was one of the founders of Adelphia Communications Corporation, which at its peak The Buffalo Sabres are a professional Ice hockey team based in Buffalo New York. At one point, WGR had no local sports rights and was an all-talk station.

WGR landed a coup when it signed WNSA's top afternoon host, Mike Schopp, from WNSA-FM in 2002; the event came at about the same time as when Rigas and Adelphia Communications were beginning to collapse under massive financial scandal. Mike Schopp is the current afternoon co-host of the Sports radio talk show "Schopp and the Bulldog" which runs weekdays from 3-7 p Adelphia Communications Corporation, named after the Greek word "brothers" was the fifth largest cable company in the United States before filing for Bankruptcy WNSA never recovered and eventually WGR took the upper hand in the local sports radio battle. Schopp was at first teamed with the vitriolic Chuck Dickerson in afernoon drive. Chuck Dickerson is a former position coach in the National Football League and Canadian Football League and Sports radio host in Buffalo New York When Dickerson departed WGR, Schopp was teamed with Chris "Bulldog" Parker. Chris "Buldog" Parker (born Buffalo New York 1964-) is the co-host of Buffalo's WGR -550's afternoon show from 300 until 700PM along with Mike Schopp Bauerle moved from WGR to sister station WBEN, Gaughan joined Kevin Sylvester (now a television personality for the Sabres) in morning drive (Burke had been released long before this) and Parker joined Schopp in the afternoon show, releasing Dickerson in the process. WBEN is an AM Radio station serving the Niagara, Buffalo and Western New York area Riter was paired with sidekick Jeremy White in the evening and lastly The Tony Kornheiser Show (from ESPN) was added in Gaughan and Burke's old time slot. The Tony Kornheiser Show is a sports radio talk show out of Washington D (Kornheiser would later be replaced by Colin Cowherd by ESPN. Colin Cowherd (born January 6, 1964) is an American Sports radio personality )

With the purchase of WNSA, WGR re-joined the New York Yankees radio network and for the first time since 1996, regained the radio rights to the Buffalo Sabres. The Buffalo Sabres are a professional Ice hockey team based in Buffalo New York. Howard Simon, also from WNSA, joined in November 2004, with White moving from evenings to mornings to be Simon's sidekick. Howard Simon (1902-1979 was a notable American Illustrator, painter, and Printmaker who is known for his Woodcuts Simon

In 2006, the Sabres and WGR renewed their broadcast agreement through 2012, and Yankees rights were dropped by 2007. In 2007, host Brad Riter was fired after failing to report for work, and he will join rival WECK in March 2008. WECK (1230 AM) is a Radio station located in the Buffalo New York, area He and Gaughan now host a weekly show on Time Warner SportsNet. A series of WGR staffers, as well as past and present Buffalo media personalities such as former WNSA and Empire host (and current KOHD-DT morning anchor) Jim Brinson and WIVB-TV sports director Dennis Williams, hosted the vacated slot. KOHD is the callsign of an ABC affiliate broadcasting on digital UHF channel 51 in Bend Oregon. WIVB-TV is the CBS Television affiliate in Buffalo New York. It broadcasts its analog signal on VHF channel 4 and its digital signal on UHF channel 39 In January 2008, Williams was hired as the new evening host at WGR; WIVB failed to renew his contract shortly thereafter.

Broadcast Signal

WGR's broadcast signal broadcasts at a power of 5,000 watts. During the day, the nondirectional signal, assisted by the Great Lakes, can stretch from Toledo, Ohio to Watertown, New York. This article is about the city in Ohio, USA. For Toledo Spain, see that article Watertown (town New York Watertown is a city in the State of New York and the County seat of Jefferson County At night, the signal is shifted to a directional north-to-south pattern aimed toward Toronto, Ontario. Toronto (təˈrɒntoʊ colloquially pronounced or) is the largest city in Canada and is the provincial capital of Ontario

In 2006, WGR resumed streaming its programming on the Internet after a four-year hiatus.

Criticisms

WGR has been occasionally criticized for their disproportionate coverage of hockey, while dedicating an extremely small amount of time to college basketball and the NBA. Hockey is any of a family of Sports in which two teams compete by trying to maneuver a Ball, or a hard round rubber or heavy plastic disc called a puck College basketball most often refers to the American Basketball competitive governance structure established by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA This is despite the fact that the NHL is undeniably less popular on a national scale. ([1] and [2]). However, WGR is not a national station, and maintains that it is giving the local listeners what they want to hear, as the NHL garners some of its biggest television ratings in the Buffalo market ([3]) and the Sabres consistently play to near-capacity crowds at their home arena, testimony to their deep regional fan base.

Hosts and Programs

Contributors and Regular Guests

20/20 Sports Anchors and Producers

Live Sports Coverage

External links

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