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KTCT

KTCT

KNBR, "The Sports Leader", are the call letters associated with 680 AM in San Francisco and KTCT 1050 AM in San Mateo, USA. Between the two stations, the entire seasons of San Francisco Giants baseball, Golden State Warriors basketball, San Jose SaberCats arena football, and San Francisco 49ers football are broadcast to the San Francisco Bay Area. KNBR is one of two class A 50,000 watt clear channel stations in the Bay Area, and the only one in the area to use a non-directional transmitter (the other, KGO-AM, directs its signal mainly to the north and south in order to have a stronger signal on the more populated west coast and to protect WGY in Schenectady, NY). At night, KNBR can be heard throughout much of the western United States and in the Hawaiian Islands. KNBR began life as KPO, owned by the Hale Brothers department store and the San Francisco Chronicle newspaper. Originally located in the Hale store at Market and 5th (now site of Marshall's and other stores), its horizontal wire antenna on the roof was so efficient it immediately attracted the attention of audiences all over the Pacific Coast. In 1927, KPO became an affiliate of the new NBC radio network. Eventually, KPO was sold to NBC, where its operation was consolidated into that of its co-owned KGO at 111 Sutter Street. From there, NBC operated its West Coast network, feeding dozens of stations and operating a news bureau to serve NBC. From this address, NBC maintained a fulltime orchestra, five studios, and produced many live shows. During the rise of Hollywood, NBC's radio operation was moved to Los Angeles. In 1941, just before World War II, NBC constructed Radio City at 420 Taylor Street, considered one of the best radio facilities built during radio's golden age. However, with the network control having been move to Los Angeles, the San Francisco NBC building was never fully utilized. (Later, the building housed KBHK TV, and now houses the headquarters of a janitorial service.) During World War II, KPO's news bureau was the major source for NBC of news about the war in the Pacific, and operated shortwave radio stations (transmitters located in Dixon) serving the world. It was at the KPO (RCA) shortwave facility that the message was received that Japanese emperor Hirohito had surrendered, ending World War II. In 1946, to shore up its reputation as an NBC station (and the only radio station NBC ever owned on the West Coast), the callsign was changed from KPO to KNBC. This change lasted until 1960, when the callsign was applied to NBC's TV station in Los Angeles, and the radio station was renamed KNBR. In the 1950s when NBC scrapped its comedy, drama, variety shows, and serials, the Los Angeles facility was sold and demolished, and KNBC/KNBR once again became the West Coast NBC network control center and West Coast NBC Radio news operation. In 1986 when NBC got out of the radio business, KNBR was sold to Susquehanna Corporation, a longtime radio station operator. KNBR has long been linked with 680 AM. Several years after KNBR's parent company acquired 1050 AM and converted it into KTCT, "The Ticket 1050," the company opted to re-brand that other station as another version of KNBR. An all-sports format stations, both KNBRs features game broadcasts and sports talk, including shows hosted by Bay Area staples Ralph Barbieri, Tom Tolbert, and KRON's Gary Radnich. Some shows are simulcast on both 680 and 1050.

Sports content

KNBR is the longtime radio home of the San Francisco Giants. Giants broadcasters and former Giants Duane Kuiper and Mike Krukow, affectionately known as "Kruk and Kuip," are considered to be broadcasting elite in baseball, as is San Francisco native and ESPN broadcaster Jon Miller, who is also a part on the Giants' on-air team. Recent additions Dave Flemming and Greg Papa round out the Giants' broadcast team. Tim Roye is the Play-by-Play Announcer for the Golden State Warriors, and is joined by Jim Barnett on non-televised games. A vast array of announcers participate in San Jose SaberCats broadcasts, including Bob Fitzgerald, Keena Turner, George Atkinson, Tim Liotta, F.P. Santangelo, and Troy Clardy. In 2005 KNBR became the official radio home of the San Francisco 49ers. 49ers games are broadcast by Joe Starkey and Gary Plummer. KNBR is also an affiliate of ESPN Radio, and carries selected content and games from the national network.

Historical

The station's original call letters were KPO, as part of RCA Corporation's NBC radio network. On Sunday, November 23, 1947, in a "gala broadcast" from "Radio City", 420 Taylor Street at O'Farrell in San Francisco, KPO adopted the call letters "KNBC".
- [http://www.bayarearadio.org/audio/kpo/kpo-knbc_nov-23-1947.shtml Recording and Further Reading: bayarearearadio.org] Later, NBC determined that its fledgling television station in Los Angeles should adopt the call letters KNBC. Television station KNBH Los Angeles (with the H for Hollywood) had become KRCA, and was then renamed KNBC. At the same time, KNBC San Francisco was renamed KNBR. RCA was bought by General Electric in 1986, and although KNBR remained a part of the "NBC Radio Network" until its dissolution, the call letters' association to NBC no longer holds.
- [http://www.airwaves.com/archive2/4739.html Reference: Airwaves.com]
- [http://www.geocities.com/kfrcrc/wcrnarchive.html 'Radio City' Reference: "San Francisco's Broadcast Center of the 1930s"] KNBR is presently (June 2005) owned by [http://www.susquehannaradio.com/]Susquehanna Radio Corp., a subsidiary of [http://www.suspfz.com/]Susquehanna Pfaltzgraff Company. The company in April, 2005, announced plans to sell its broadcast properties.
- [http://www.susquehannaradio.com/pressroom/SPC%20Master%20Press%20Release%20-%20042005.pdf Reference: Susquehanna Press Release, 4-20-2005]

Schedules and shows

Programming from KNBR's flagship station (680 AM) is discussed here. For "KNBR 1050" (KTCT), see entry.

Past programs

- "Frank And Mike in the Morning"
- Frank Dill and Mike Cleary (hosts)
- Cammy Blackstone (traffic, occasional news, character voices)
- Kim Wonderley (traffic, occasional news, character voices)
- Kevin Radich ("Kevin the Rat") (sports) This long-running show (1978-1995) was a staple of San Francisco Bay Area morning drive-time radio. It was variety show with interviews, light satire (sketch comedy, complete with characters), and occasional remote broadcasts, such as from the AT&T Pebble Beach Open. Until the early '90s it, along with the rest of the station, also featured Adult Contemporary music selections. While "Frank" usually played the straight man, "Mike" provided the majority of the program's ubiquitous sketch-comedy character voices, which included a confused newsman, a chef ("Julia Chives"), an heiress ("Noone Gotmore Danyudu"), and others. Cleary left the show in the '90s and was replaced by other sidekicks, including traffic reporters Blackstone and Wonderley and sports reporter Radich. John Madden appeared with Dill regularly for several years; shortly after Dill retired, he moved his daily show to competitor KCBS-AM.
- "C.J. Bronson"
- "Carter B. Smith"
- "The Steve Jamison Couch"
- Steve Jamison (host) Typically an interview show, rather than a call-in show, Steve Jamison typically interviewed notable figures from the Bay Area, as well as national newsmakers and figures from entertainment.
- "The Leo Laporte Show"
- Leo Laporte (host) A relaxed afternoon talk show with an electic focus. Laporte went on to develop and host KNBR's "California Weekend", a block of weekend talk shows that lasted (in various forms) until KNBR's adoption of an all-sports format in the 1990s.
- "Joel A. Spivak, Speaking"
- "The Peter B. Collins Show" An afternoon [drive-time] talk show focused primarily on current events, with various entertainment elements. These included "Dialing for Dorks", in which Collins called various shady companies whose advertising he or listeners had received.
- "Sportsphone 68"
- Hank Greenwald (host)
- Ken Dito (host)
- Dave Newhouse (host)
- Ralph Barbieri (host) The station's flagship program, later known as "SportsPhone 680", has featured numerous hosts over the years. The program was one of the first sports talk shows available in the San Francisco Bay Area, and eventually helped steer KNBR toward an all-sports format in the 1990s.
- "California Weekend" During the late 1980s and early 1990s, KNBR broadcast a suite of weekend talk shows on various topics, including Real Estate, Automobiles (Brian Douglas), Home Repair ("On the House" with Morris Carey and James Carey), and computers ("Dvorak On Computers" with: John C. Dvorak.) Broadcaster Leo Laporte anchored all of these programs, allowing the "expert" hosts, which had less radio experience, to concentrate on their topics, and answering callers' questions.
- "Hollywood Calling"
- Jan Wahl (host) During the early 1990s, KNBR aired a weekly show that introduced San Francisco Bay Area media personality Jan Wahl to the broader public. Although the show's introduction referred to Wahl as a Television Emmy-award-winning producer and television director, the program focused on motion pictures, with discussions of current film releases, personalities, Hollywood history from the days of the studio system to the present, Hollywood collectibles, and included interviews of various Hollywood personalities, mostly from behind the scenes. Wahl later went on to become the movie critic for San Francisco television station KRON-TV, and its cable offshoot, "BayTV".
- "Costas Coast to Coast" (syndicated)
- Bob Costas (host) A weekly radio interview program, often recorded before a studio audience, "Costas Coast to Coast" aired weekends, originating as a nationally syndicated program. Hosted by nationally-known media commentator Bob Costas.
- "Instant Replay" (syndicated); later "Pat Summerall's Sports in America"
- Pat Summerall (host) A weekly radio interview program, begun in 1990, "Instant Replay" featured host Pat Summerall interviewing many of the highest-profile sports figures of the day, including athletes as diverse as Pete Rose and Arthur Ashe. Airing during the peak of Summerall's long broadcasting career, many of the show's interviews were later reprinted in a book entitled Pat Summerall's Sports in America (ISBN 006270186X).
- "The Rush Limbaugh Show" KNBR began carrying Rush Limbaugh around 1990, but retained the show long after the station's focus was shifted to its sports programming, due to its popularity. The station finally dropped the show and went all-sports about 10 years later.
- "The Morning Show"
- Steve McPartlin (host)
- Kevin Radich and Kim Wonderley (hosts)
- "Fitz and Brooks"
- Rod Brooks, Bob FitzGerald (hosts)
- "The Pete Franklin Show"
- Pete Franklin (host) KNBR brought an edgier form of sports talk to the Bay Area air by hiring Pete Franklin from Cleveland. The station promoted Franklin as "the King of Sports Talk", perhaps in part to establish his reputation in the Bay Area radio market, where he was not yet well known. Franklin quickly became popular among KNBR personalities, and (like Limbaugh) was unafraid to attack callers whom he disagreed with, or whose reasoning he found faulty. One of Franklin's signature "bits" was the use of a "toilet flushing" sound effect, with which he would dismiss callers.

Current programming

Programs airing on KNBR (680) in 2005 include:

Weekdays

- 0000-0530: ESPN Radio
- 0530-0930: KNBR Morning Show: Brian Murphy and Tim Liotta
- 0930-1200: Gary Radnich
- 1200-1500: Rick Barry with Rod Brooks
- 1500-1900: The Razor & Mr. T.: Ralph Barbieri & Tom Tolbert
- 1900-2200: Sportsphone 680
- 2200-2400: ESPN Radio

Weekends

(Various times)
- "ESPN Radio"
- "Public Affairs with Gimmy Park Li"
- "At The Track with Sam Spear"
- "Hooked On Golf"
- "Ray Brown On Real Estate"
- Gary Allen - Business
- "The Weekend Insiders" with Bruce Macgowan
- "The Fishing Report with Brian Hoffman"

Ongoing

- "The Gary Radnich Show"
- "The Razor and Mr. T"
- Ralph Barbieri, Tom Tolbert (hosts) An afternoon Sports Talk show, begun in 1996. The premise of "The Razor and Mr. T" was the pairing of Ralph Barbieri (promoted from evenings to afternoons) with former NBA (and Golden State Warriors) player Tom Tolbert.
- Untitled (Public Affairs)
- Gimmy Park Li (host) Originating as part of the station's statutory requirement of public affairs, the station continues to air an hourlong interview show Sunday mornings at 5 a.m.. During the 1990s, the program typically began and ended with the phrase "This is Gimmy Park Li, Your Host". No program title was given. Interviews for this program often consisted of local individuals in volunteer, charitable, or minor governmental capacities. Due to its time slot, the program is the quintessential example of the "Sunday-morning public affairs ghetto". (Related article: Public affairs) The program has, apparently, never been promoted outside of its timeslot. "Gimmy Park Li" is the station's Public Affairs Director.

External links

- [http://knbr.com Official Website]
- [http://sanfrancisco.giants.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/sf/schedule/sf_schedule_BroadcastAffiliates.jsp Giants Radio Network]
- [http://espnradio.espn.go.com/espnradio/index ESPN Radio] Category:San Francisco sports NBR Category:Class A radio stations in North America

Mediumwave

Mediumwave radio transmissions (sometimes called Medium frequency or MF) are those between the frequencies of 300 kHz and 3000 kHz. In most of the world, mediumwave serves as the most common band for broadcasting. The standard AM broadcast band is 525 kHz to 1715 kHz in North America, but remains only up to 1615 kHz elsewhere. Mediumwave signals have the property of following the curvature of the earth (the groundwave) at all times, and also reflecting off the ionosphere at night (skywave). This makes this frequency band ideal for both local and continent-wide service, depending on the time of day. For example, during the day a radio receiver in the state of Maryland is able to receive reliable but weak signals from high-power stations WFAN, 660 kHz, and WOR, 710 kHz, 400 km away in New York City, due to groundwave propagation. The effectiveness of groundwave signals largely depends on ground conductivity—higher conductivity results in better propagation. At night, the same receiver picks up signals as far away as Mexico City and Chicago reliably. Many stations are required to shut down or reduce power at night in order to make way for clear channel stations that can then be received over a wider range. In the Americas, mediumwave stations are separated by 10 kHz and have two sidebands of ±5 kHz. In the rest of the world, the separation is 9 kHz, with sidebands of ±4.5 kHz. Both provide adequate audio quality for voice, but are insufficient for high-fidelity broadcasting, which is common on the VHF FM bands. In the US the maximum transmitter power is restricted to 50 kilowatts, while in Europe there are medium wave stations with transmitter power up to 2.5 megawatts. Stereo transmission is possible and offered by some stations in the U.S., Australia, South Africa, and France. However, there are multiple standards for AM stereo with C-QUAM being the legal one in the United States, and receivers that actually implement the technologies are relatively rare but not uncommon. Failed systems include Kahn Powerside and others. In September 2002, the United States Federal Communications Commission approved the iBiquity in-band on-channel (IBOC) system of digital audio broadcasting, which is meant to improve the audio quality of signals. The Digital Radio Mondiale (DRM) IBOC system has been approved by the ITU for use outside the Americas.

Antennas

As aerials mostly mast radiators are used. Stations broadcasting with low power commonly use masts with heights of a quarter wavelength, while high power stations mostly use half wavelength. The usage of masts longer than 5/8 of radiated wavelength gives a bad radiation pattern. Usually mast antennas are insulated against ground and show a high voltage against ground during transmission, which complicates maintenance, installation of air safety warning lights or using the mast as a tower for UHF/VHF-radio, but there are several ways to use grounded masts or towers. wavelength If grounded masts or towers are required, than cage aerials or longwire aerials are used. Another possibility consists of feeding the mast or the tower by cables running from the tuning unit to the guys or crossbars in a certain height. Directional aerials consist of multiple masts, which need not to be from the same height. It is also possible to realize directional aerials for mediumwave with cage aerials where some parts of the cage are fed with a certain phase difference. Other type of aerials sometimes used for mediumwave are T- and L-aerials. The kind used depends on the need for grounded or insulated towers. In some cases dipole aerials are used, which are spun between two masts or towers. Such aerials radiate toward the sky. The mediumwave transmitter at Berlin-Britz for transmitting RIAS used a cross dipole mounted on five 30.5 metre high guyed masts to transmit the skywave up to the ionosphere at nighttime.

Non-broadcast use

For most of the 20th century, the radio frequency 500 kHz was reserved world wide as the Morse code international calling and distress frequency for ships on the high seas. The frequency 2182 kHz is still used for this purpose, but employing voice transmission. Other services that operate in medium wave include Navtex and the Amateur Radio 160-meter band. The obsolete LORAN-A system used medium wave.

KTCT

Sports content

Historical

Schedules and shows

Programming from KNBR's flagship station (680 AM) is discussed here. For "KNBR 1050" (KTCT), see entry.

Past programs

Current programming

Programs airing on KNBR (680) in 2005 include:

Weekdays

Weekends

Ongoing

External links

San Mateo, California

San Mateo is a city located in San Mateo County, California, USA. It is one of the larger suburbs on the San Francisco Peninsula, located between Burlingame to the north, Foster City to the East, and Belmont to the south. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 92,482. San Mateo is the birthplace of actors Lina Basquette, Barry Bostwick, Keith Carradine, Dennis Haysbert, Marc McClure, Michael Trucco, and Diane Varsi, as well as actor, producer, and game show creator Merv Griffin, prolific animated film producer Paul Terry, musician Neal Schon, politician Zoe Lofgren, baseball pitcher John Wetteland, and New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady. The most noted attraction is the Bay Meadows horse-racing track. The San Mateo Arboretum in Central Park is also of interest. The San Mateo Performing Arts Center, located on San Mateo High School, is one of the largest theatres on the peninsula outside of San Francisco. U.S. Highway 101, Interstate 280 , and California State Highway 92 pass through San Mateo. The College of San Mateo is also located here and is home to radio station KCSM.

Geography

KCSMSan Mateo is located at 37°33'15" North, 122°18'47" West (37.554286, -122.313044). According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 41.3 km² (16.0 mi²). 31.6 km² (12.2 mi²) of it is land and 9.7 km² (3.7 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 23.43% water.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there are 92,482 people, 37,338 households, and 22,328 families residing in the city. The population density is 2,922.1/km² (7,569.5/mi²). There are 38,249 housing units at an average density of 1,208.5/km² (3,130.6/mi²). The racial makeup of the city is 66.23% White, 2.59% African American, 0.48% Native American, 15.10% Asian, 1.64% Pacific Islander, 8.93% from other races, and 5.03% from two or more races. 20.52% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race. There are 37,338 households out of which 25.9% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.9% are married couples living together, 9.1% have a female householder with no husband present, and 40.2% are non-families. 31.6% of all households are made up of individuals and 11.7% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.44 and the average family size is 3.09. In the city the population is spread out with 20.4% under the age of 18, 7.2% from 18 to 24, 35.1% from 25 to 44, 22.2% from 45 to 64, and 15.1% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 38 years. For every 100 females there are 95.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 93.5 males. The median income for a household in the city is $64,757, and the median income for a family is $76,223. Males have a median income of $51,280 versus $41,231 for females. The per capita income for the city is $36,176. 6.1% of the population and 3.6% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 6.8% of those under the age of 18 and 5.9% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line. poverty line

References

"San Mateo: A Centennial History", By Mitchell P. Postel; Scottwall Associates, Publisher, San Francisco; 1994. ISBN 0-942087-08-9 (HBK)

External links

- [http://www.ci.sanmateo.ca.us/ City of San Mateo website]
- [http://www.coyoteptmuseum.org/ Coyote Point Museum, San Mateo]
- [http://www.baymeadows.com/ Bay Meadows Race Track, San Mateo]
- [http://gocsm.net/ College of San Mateo website]
- [http://www.sanmateoarboretum.org/ San Mateo Arboretum Society] Category:Cities in California Category:San Francisco Bay Area Category:San Mateo County, California

San Francisco Giants

The San Francisco Giants are a Major League Baseball team based in San Francisco, California. They play in the West Division of the National League.

New York Giants history

Early days

One of the most storied clubs in American professional sports, the Giants began life as a second baseball club founded by John B. Day and Jim Mutrie. The Gothams (as the Giants were originally known) were their entry to the National League, while their other club, the Metropolitans (the original Mets) played in the American Association. While the Metropolitans were initially the more successful club, Day and Mutrie began moving star players to the Gothams and the team won its first National League pennant in 1888. It is said that after one particularly satisfying victory, Mutrie (who was also the team's manager) stormed into the dressing room and exclaimed, "My big fellows! My giants!" From then on, the club was known as the Giants. The Giants' original home stadium, the Polo Grounds, also dates from this early era. Originally located on the corner of 110th Street and Sixth Avenue in Manhattan, the Polo Grounds moved uptown, to 155th Street and 8th Avenue. There the Giants would make it their home in New York City. Though considered "the worst owner in the world" during his time, Andrew Freeman changed the Giants' fortunes. In 1902, after a series of disastrous moves that left the Giants 53 1/2 games behind, Freedman signed John McGraw as a player-manager. McGraw would go on and manage the Giants for three decades, one of the longest tenures in professional sports. Under McGraw, the Giants would win ten National League pennants and three World Series championships. The Giants already had their share of stars during its brief history at this point, such as Smiling Mickey Welch, Roger Connor, Tim Keefe, Jim O'Rourke and Monte Ward, the player-lawyer who formed the renegade Players League in 1890 to protest unfair player contracts. McGraw would also cultivate his own crop of baseball heroes during his time with the Giants. Names such as Christy Mathewson, Iron Man Joe McGinnity, Bill Terry, Jim Thorpe, Mel Ott and Casey Stengel are just a sample of the many players who honed their skills under McGraw. The Giants under McGraw famously snubbed their first ever modern World Series chance in 1904--an encounter with the Boston Americans (now known as the "Red Sox")--because McGraw considered the new American League as little more than a minor league. His original reluctance was concern that the intra-city rival New York Americans or "Highlanders" looked like they would win the AL pennant. The Highlanders lost to Boston on the last day, but the Giants stuck by their refusal. The ensuing criticism resulted in Giants' owner John T. Brush leading an effort to formalize the rules and format of the World Series. The Giants were back in 1905, winning the Series over the Philadelphia Athletics, with Christy Mathewson nearly winning the Series single-handedly. It would be the last time (as of 2004) that the Giants would best the A's in the post-season, as they have since proven to be a nemesis to the Giants on both coasts. The Giants then had several frustrating years. In 1908 they finished in a tie with the Chicago Cubs and had a one-game playoff at the Polo Grounds (actually a replay of a controversial tied game resulting from Fred Merkle's "boner") which they lost to the Cubs, who would go on to win their second, and so far last World Series. That post-season game was further darkened by a story that someone on the Giants had attempted to bribe umpire Bill Klem. This could have been a disastrous scandal for baseball, but because Klem was honest and the Giants lost, it faded over time. The Giants experienced some hard luck in the early 1910s, losing three straight World Series to the A's, the Red Sox, then the A's again. After losing the 1917 Series to the Chicago White Sox (the other Chicago team's last World Series win until 2005), the Giants got it together and played in four straight World Series in the early 1920s, winning the first two over their tenants, the Yankees, then losing to the Yankees in 1923 when Yankee Stadium opened. They also lost in 1924, when the Washington Senators won their only World Series in their history (prior to their move to Minnesota).

1930-1950

McGraw handed over the team to Bill Terry in 1932, and Terry played for and managed the Giants for ten years, winning three pennants and one World Series. Aside from Terry himself, the other stars of the era were Ott and Carl Hubbell, one of three pitchers in baseball history to master the screwball (along with Mathewson and Fernando Valenzuela). Known as "King Carl" and "The Meal Ticket", Hubbell gained fame during the 1934 All-Star Game, when he struck out five Hall of Famers in a row: Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Jimmie Foxx, Al Simmons, and Joe Cronin. Mel Ott succeeded Terry as manager in 1942, but the war years proved to be difficult for the Giants. In 1948, Leo Durocher became manager of the Giants, with some controversy--Durocher had been manager of the Giants' rivals, the Brooklyn Dodgers, but he had been accused of gambling in 1947 and had been suspended and the Dodgers let him go the following year. Durocher remained at the helm until 1955, and those eight years proved to be some of the most memorable for Giants fans, particularly because of the arrival of Willie Mays and two famous games.

The "Shot Heard 'Round The World" (1951)

One of the more famous episodes in major league baseball history, the "Shot Heard 'Round The World" is the name given to Bobby Thomson's walk-off home run that clinched the National League pennant for the Giants over their rivals, the Brooklyn Dodgers. This game was the third of a three-game playoff series that was called after one of baseball's more memorable pennant races. The Giants had been thirteen and a half games behind the league-leading Dodgers, but under Durocher's guidance the Giants caught up to tie the Dodgers for the lead on the last day of the season.

Mays' catch (1954)

In game one of the 1954 World Series, Willie Mays made "The Catch" -- a dramatic over-the-shoulder catch off a line drive by Vic Wertz to deep center field which could otherwise have given the Cleveland Indians victory. The underdog Giants went on to win the World Series that year in four straight.

The move westward (1957)

The Giants' final three years in New York City were unmemorable. They stumbled to third place the year after their World Series win and attendances plunged. Despite objections from shareholders such as Joan Whitney Payson, majority owner Horace Stoneham entered into negotiations with San Francisco mayor George Christopher around the same time that Dodgers' owner Walter O'Malley was courting the city of Los Angeles. In the summer of 1957, both teams announced their moves West, and the golden era of baseball in New York City ended. New York would remain a one-team town until 1962 when Joan Whitney Payson founded the New York Mets and brought National League baseball back to the city. The "NY" script on the Giants' caps, along with the orange trim on their uniforms, and the blue background used by the Dodgers, would be adopted by the Mets. The Mets still use this color scheme today, with the addition of black in 1995, the same colors of the Giants orange and black were combined the Dodger blue.

San Francisco Giants history

In sharp contrast to the New York years, the Giants' fortunes in San Francisco have been mixed. Though recently the club has enjoyed relatively sustained success, there have also been prolonged stretches of mediocrity, along with two instances when the club's ownership threatened to move it out of San Francisco. Most disappointingly for the large fan base that they have maintained ever since their arrival in the city, the Giants have as yet failed to win a World Series title for San Francisco. After a brief sojourn in Seals Stadium, the Giants moved to Candlestick Park (sometimes known simply as "The Stick"), a stadium built on a point in San Francisco's southeast corner overlooking San Francisco Bay. The new stadium quickly gained a reputation for being one of the most inhospitable in baseball, with swirling winds and cold temperatures making for a torturous experience; the radiant heating system installed never worked. Candlestick Park's reputation was sealed during the 1961 All-Star Game, when a gust of wind shook pitcher Stu Miller so much during his delivery that he was called for a balk. The Giants no longer play at Candlestick Park, which has been renamed Monster Park and remains the home of the San Francisco 49ers football team.

1962

The Giants may never have won a World Series since moving to San Francisco, but they have been close, playing in three of them. In 1962, they lost by 4 games to 3 to the New York Yankees, losing the final game in the bottom of the ninth, 1-0, in a pitchers' duel. With Matty Alou on first base and two outs, Willie Mays sliced a double down the right field line. Rightfielder Roger Maris, whose 61 home run season in 1961 has historically overshadowed his great defensive work, quickly got to the ball and rifled a throw to the infield, preventing Alou from scoring the tying run. All Willie McCovey needed was a single. He hit a screaming line drive that was snared by second baseman Bobby Richardson, bringing the Series to a sudden end. Earlier in the inning, a failed bunt by Felipe Alou had ultimately resulted in Matty not scoring on Mays' double, which started a lifelong dedication to fundamentals on Felipe's part. In addition, to rub salt in the wound, Richardson was not originally positioned to catch the drive, he only moved there (three steps to the left) in reaction to a foul smash by McCovey on the previous pitch. Giants fan Charles Schulz made a rare reference to the real world in one of his Peanuts strips soon afterward. In the first two panels, Charlie Brown and Linus are sitting on a porch step, looking glum. In the last panel, Charlie cries to the heavens, "Why couldn't McCovey have hit the ball just three feet higher?" Some weeks later, same scene. This time, Charlie cries, "Or why couldn't McCovey have hit the ball just two feet higher?"

The rest of the 1960s

Although the Giants didn't make another World Series until 1989, The Giants of the '60s continued to be pennant contenders thanks to several future hall-of-famers, including Gaylord Perry, who pitched a no-hitter with the Giants in 1968; Juan Marichal, a pitcher with a memorable high-kicking delivery; McCovey, who won the National League MVP award in 1969, and Mays, who holds the all-time franchise record for most home runs and hit his 600th career home run in 1969.

1970s

The Giants' next appearance in the post-season was 1971. After winning their division, they were easily defeated In the League Championship Series by the Pittsburgh Pirates and Roberto Clemente. The rest of the 1970s was a generally disappointing decade for the Giants, finishing no higher than third place in any season. In 1976 Bob Lurie bought the team, saving it from being moved to Toronto.

1980s

In 1981 the Giants became the first National League team to hire a black manager, Frank Robinson. However, Robinson's tenure lasted less than four years and was generally unsuccessful. In 1985, a year which saw the Giants lose 100 games (the most losses since moving to San Francisco), owner Bob Lurie responded by hiring Al Rosen as general manager. Under Rosen's tenure, the Giants promoted promising rookies such as Will Clark and Robby Thompson, and made canny trades to acquire such players as Kevin Mitchell, Dave Dravecky, Candy Maldonado, and Rick Reuschel. New manager Roger Craig served as the Giants' new manager from 1985 to 1992. In Craig's first five full seasons with the Giants, the team never finished with a losing record. Under Roger Craig's leadership (and his unique motto, "Humm Baby") the Giants won 83 games in 1986 and won the National League Western Division title in 1987. The team lost the 1987 National League Championship Series to the St. Louis Cardinals in seven games. The bright spot in that defeat was Giants outfielder Jeffrey Leonard, who was named the series MVP in a losing effort.Jeffrey Leonard Although the team used 15 different starting pitchers, the 1989 Giants won the National League pennant. They were led by pitchers Rick Reuschel and Scott Garrelts and sluggers Kevin Mitchell (the 1989 National League MVP) and Will Clark. The Giants beat the Chicago Cubs in the National League Championship Series, four games to one.

The at-bat (1989)

In Game 5, eventual 1989 NLCS MVP Will Clark (who hit .650, drove in eight runs, and hit a grand slam off of Greg Maddux in Game 1) came through in the cluch with a bases-loaded single off of the hard-throwing Mitch Williams to break a 1-1 tie in the bottom of the 8th inning Clark took the first fastball for a strike, then fouled one away. Williams' next pitch missed the outside corner to bring the count to 1-and-2. After Clark fouled off two more pitches, he hit a screaming line drive up the middle to bring in two runs. In the top of the 9th inning, Steve Bedrosian was shakey as he gave up a run. But ultimately, Bedrosian was able to get Ryne Sandberg to ground-out for out #3. Fittingly, the hero of Game 5, Will Clark caught the final out from second baseman Robby Thompson. For the first time in 27 years, the San Francisco Giants were the champions of the National League. After taking care of the Cubs, the Giants faced the Oakland Athletics in the "Bay Bridge Series". The series is perhaps best remembered because the Loma Prieta earthquake on October 17, 1989 disrupted the planned Game 3 of the series at Candlestick Park. After a ten-day delay in the series, Oakland finished up its sweep of San Francisco.

1990s

Following the '89 World Series defeat, a local ballot initiative to fund a new stadium in San Francisco failed, threatening the franchise's future in the city. After the 1992 season, owner Bob Lurie, who had previously saved the franchise from moving to Toronto in 1976, put the team up for sale. A group of investors from Saint Petersburg led by Vince Naimoli reached an agreement to purchase the team and move them across the country. However, Major League Baseball blocked the move, paving the way for the team to stay in San Francisco with an ownership group lead by Peter Magowan, the former CEO of Safeway. (As compensation, MLB granted Naimoli's group an expansion franchise, the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.) Before even hiring a new General Manager or officially being approved as the new owners, Magowan signed superstar free agent Barry Bonds (a move which MLB initially blocked until some terms were negotiated to protect Lurie and Bonds in case the sale failed), a move that shaped the franchise's fortunes for more than a decade. The Barry Bonds era started with a bang as Bonds put up the numbers for the third MVP of his career: 46 homers, 129 runs, 123 RBI, .336/.458/.677/1.135, all career highs. This led the Giants to a great 103-59 record in Dusty Baker's first year as manager, which earned Baker the Manager of the Year award. But despite the Giants' great record, the Atlanta Braves -- fueled by their midseason acquisition of Fred McGriff from the San Diego Padres -- won the NL West by a single game. Desperately needing a win in the final game of the year to force a one-game playoff with the Braves, the Giants started rookie Salomon Torres against the Dodgers, and Torres lost the game. The period of 1994 to 1996 were not good years for the Giants, punctuated by the strike that cancelled the World Series in 1994. The strike cost Matt Williams a chance to beat Roger Maris' single season home run record - he was on pace for over 60 homers when the strike hit with 47 games left to play. The Giants then came in last place in both 1995 and 1996, as key injuries and slumps hurt them. The only bright spot was Barry Bonds, highlighted by his joining the 40-40 club with 42 homers and 40 stolen bases in the 1996 season. These bad times led the Giants to name Brian Sabean as their new general manager, replacing Bob Quinn. Prior to being named GM, he was already rumored to have engineered the deal to get Kirk Rueter from the Montreal Expos. In his first trade as GM, he shocked Giants fans across the world by trading Matt Williams for seemingly a bunch of spare parts, and the reaction was great enough for him to have to publicly explain: "I didn't get to this point by being an idiot... I'm sitting here telling you there is a plan." Sabean was proven right, as the players he acquired in the Williams trade - Jeff Kent, Jose Vizcaino, Julian Tavarez, and Joe Roa (plus the $1 million in cash that enabled them to sign Darryl Hamilton) - plus the trade for J.T. Snow enabled the Giants to win their first NL West division title of the 1990s in 1997. Unfortunately, the Florida Marlins ended the Giants' season with a 3-0 sweep in the first round of playoffs, as the Marlins marched on their way to their first World Series championship.

2000s

After 40 years at Candlestick Point, in 2000 the Giants opened their privately-financed ballpark, Pacific Bell Park. The inaugural season resulted in a surprising division title, with the team having the best record in the National League. The Giants lost the 2000 division series to the New York Mets, three games to one. In 2001 the Giants were eliminated from playoff contention on the second to last day of the season, but Barry Bonds gave fans something to cheer about as he hit a record 73 home runs that season. In 2002 the focus returned to the team, with the Giants winning the National League wild card. In the playoffs, they defeated the Atlanta Braves in the NLDS three games to two, and then the St. Louis Cardinals four games to one to stake claim to the Giants' first pennant since 1989. The team faced the winners of the American League wild card, the Anaheim Angels, in the 2002 World Series. The series' climax was during Game 6, with the Giants leading 5-0 in the seventh inning, just eight outs away from their first championship since moving to San Francisco. The Angels came back to win that game, then won Game 7 to claim their first MLB championship and break the hearts of Giants fans. Rebounding from the World Series loss in 2003, the Giants (under new manager Felipe Alou) recorded 100 victories for the seventh time in franchise history and the third time in San Francisco. The team spent every day of the season in first place, just the ninth team to do so in baseball history. The Giants lost to the eventual world champions, the Florida Marlins, in the Division Series, three games to one. In 2004, the Giants again avoided elimination from playoff contention until the last day of the season. The team finished one game out in the Wild Card race and two behind the division-winning Los Angeles Dodgers. The season ended with drama, as the Dodgers came from behind to defeat the Giants in a late season game, winning on a Steve Finley grand slam. The Giants' 2005 season has been the team's least successful since moving to its new stadium. Bonds missed most of the season, closer Armando Benitez was injured for four months, and ace Jason Schmidt struggled after numerous injuries. However, team management has taken advantage of the off year to give playing time to numerous young players, including pitchers Noah Lowry, Brad Hennessy, Kevin Correia, Scott Munter, Matt Cain, and Jeremy Accardo, as well as first baseman Lance Niekro and outfielders Jason Ellison and Todd Linden. The acquisition of Randy Winn from the Seattle Mariners also proved invaluable in the strech run. On May 25, 2005, the Giants held a celebration in honor of Baseball Hall of Famer Juan Marichal. A statue of Marichal was dedicated on the plaza outside of the ballpark. Leonel Fernández, the President of the Dominican Republic, was in attendance. In the two games which followed the ceremonies, the Giants wore uniforms with the word "Gigantes" on the front (the Spanish word for "Giants".) On July 14, 2005, the franchise won their 10,000th contest defeating their long-time rivals, the Los Angeles Dodgers, 4-3, becoming the first professional sports franchise to have five digits in their winning total. On September 28, 2005, the Giants were officially eliminated from the NL West race after losing to the 2005 champion San Diego Padres. The team finished the season in third place, with a record of 75-87, their worst season - and first losing record - since 1996.

Rivalries

Giants-Dodgers

The historic rivalry between the Giants and the Los Angeles Dodgers began when both clubs played in New York City (at the Polo Grounds and Ebbets Field, respectively). Both franchises date back to the 19th century, and both moved to California in 1958, where the rivalry found a befitting new home, the cities of Los Angeles and San Francisco having long been rivals in economic, cultural, and political arenas. Along with the feud between the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees, it is one of the longest lasting in baseball.

Giants-Athletics

Originating in New York and Philadelphia and in different leagues, the Giants and Oakland Athletics did not strike up a true rivalry until the Athletics moved to Oakland in 1968. (However, prior to their moves the teams did face off in World Series in 1905, 1911, and 1913.) The two teams' geographic rivalry was limited to fan discussions and exhibition games until the 1989 World Series, an earthquake-interrupted series won by Oakland, four games to none. With the advent of interleague play, the Giants and A's now play two regular-season series per year against one another, adding a recurring on-field confrontation to the long-standing off-field rivalry.

Quick facts

:Founded: December 7, 1882. The Troy Haymakers (or sometimes Trojans) were expelled from the National League after the 1882 season. New York had been without a club since 1878, when its club had been expelled; John B. Day was awarded the New York franchise, and so bought up the defunct Troy club. :Formerly known as: Colloquially known as "Jints" (rhymes with "pints") from their New York days. Also referred to in old days as "The Polo Grounders". :Uniform colors: Black, orange, and off-white :Logo design: The word "GIANTS" superimposed over a baseball. Alternatively, a script "G", or an intertwined "SF". :World Championships won (before advent of World Series) (3): 1888, 1889, 1894

Baseball Hall of Famers

Note: as of 2005 the Giants currently have more players in the Baseball Hall of Fame than any other franchise. However, only Cepeda, Marichal, Mays, McCovey and Perry were elected due to their performances in San Francisco.

Retired Numbers

- NY John McGraw, 3B, 1902-06; Manager, 1902-32 (played and managed in New York, before uniform numbers were worn)
- NY Christy Mathewson, P, 1900-16 (all in New York)
- 3 Bill Terry, 1B, 1923-36; Manager, 1932-41 (all in New York)
- 4 Mel Ott, OF, 1926-47; Manager, 1942-48 (all in New York)
- 11 Carl Hubbell, P, 1928-43 (the first National Leaguer to have his number retired, 1944)
- 24 Willie Mays, OF, 1951-72 (1951-52, 1954-57 in New York, 1952-53 in Korean War, 1958-72 in San Francisco)
- 27 Juan Marichal, P, 1960-73
- 30 Orlando Cepeda, 1B, 1958-66
- 44 Willie McCovey, 1B-OF, 1959-73 & 1977-80

Current roster

Minor league affiliations

- AAA: Fresno Grizzlies, Pacific Coast League
- AA: Connecticut Defenders, Eastern League
- Advanced A: San Jose Giants, California League
- A: Augusta GreenJackets, South Atlantic League
- Short A: Salem-Keizer Volcanoes, Northwest League
- Rookie: AZL Giants, Arizona League

References

- Hynd, Noel (1988). The Giants of the Polo Grounds: the glorious times of baseball's New York Giants. New York: Doubleday. ISBN 0-385-23790-1.

External links

- [http://sanfrancisco.giants.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/sf/homepage/sf_homepage.jsp San Francisco Giants official web site] Category:MLB teams Category:San Francisco sports ja:サンフランシスコ・ジャイアンツ

Clear channel

:This article is about the class of AM radio stations that are called clear channel stations based on their technical parameters, not their owner. For the company named Clear Channel, which owns radio stations most of which are not in this class, please see Clear Channel Communications. Clear channel stations are AM radio stations that are designated as such so that only one or two 50,000 watt powerhouses operate at night on each designated frequency, covering a wide area via sky wave propagation. Non-clear channel stations transmitting on these frequencies are (or were) required to shut down at night, leading them to be known as daytimers. In North America, some frequencies were designated by the North American Radio Broadcasting Agreement (NARBA) (to which the U.S., Canada, and Mexico are signatory) as clear channels. These are considered by the FCC and CRTC to be class A (formerly class 1-A or I-A) stations. Daytimers are in class D. For the U.S., clear channels first appeared in 1922 when the Commerce Department moved stations which had all used two frequencies (one for entertainment stations, one for news) onto 52 frequencies. Two were used for all low-power stations and the large stations each got their own frequency. A few frequencies were used on both the East and West Coast, which were considered far enough apart to limit interference. At this time large stations were limited to 1000 watts. Later in 1928, the AM band was reorganized with local, regional and clear channels (and a few reserved for Canada) by the new Federal Radio Commission. Gradually maximum power was increased to 50,000 watts. This system was continued in the 1941 NARBA system although almost all stations shifted broadcast frequencies. Recently however, the FCC has authorized nighttime operation by lower-powered stations on these frequencies, thus limiting the non-interference range of the primary licensees. Stations are still required to reduce power or reconfigure their transmitters at night. Regional class stations have been allowed to increase their power to the same 50,000 watts as clear channel stations. In 1987 the rules were changed so that no new stations would have daytime-only licenses. Clear Channel Communications, a San Antonio, Texas-based company which owns a large number of U.S. radio stations, was originally formed to purchase one of these stations, WOAI; the company now owns more than a dozen.

Clear channels in North America

The following two tables show all of the class-A stations in North America. Stations in Alaska are shown separately due to their unique status. WOWO was previously a class-A station and is called out in the treaties as such. However, in the 1990s WOWO was downgraded to a class B allotment by reducing its night power to 9.8 kW, and thus no longer has a secondary service area. CHUC applied for and was granted 1580 at Cobourg, Ontario with 10 kW, but chose instead to move to FM. This channel was originally allocated to CBJ in Chicoutimi, Quebec. CHUC is notified to the U.S. as an existing station on 1580.

External links

- [http://www.fcc.gov/mb/audio/amclasses.html AM Station Classes - Clear, Regional, and Local Channels] (FCC Website)
- [http://www.ac6v.com/clearam.htm Big USA, Mexico, and Canadian AM radio stations] Category:United States communications regulation Category:Canadian media regulation Category:Radio
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KGO (AM)

KGO 810 kHz on the AM band, is a "news-talk format" radio station based in San Francisco, California owned by ABC/Disney. Broadcasting with 50,000 watts of power as a clear channel station, it can be heard throughout the western United States and beyond. It is one of the West Coast flagship radio stations of ABC.

History

KGO signed on the air in 1924 from 'General Electric's Oakland electrical facility, as part of a planned three-station network comprising WGY in Schenectady, New York, and KOA in Denver. Due to GE's involvement in RCA and RCA's launch of the NBC radio network, KGO was soon operated by NBC management as part of the NBC network. See the KNBR entry for a fuller discussion of NBC's San Francisco radio operations. In 1943, the Federal Communications Commission forced NBC to sell off one of its two networks and the stations it owned which were affiliated with it. The NBC "Blue Network" became ABC, and KGO went its separate way. In the postwar period, KGO originated many live music programs, including that of Western Swing bandleader Bob Wills, a popular staple of the period. KGO was also instrumental in bringing the first exercise show to broadcasting, hosted by Jack LaLanne, a fitness instructor and gym operator in Oakland. LaLanne conducted his radio fitness show for many years on KGO, and moved in the late 1950s to KGO-TV and a successful TV syndication career. By the late 1950s, KGO had suffered a malaise and poor ratings. In 1962, ABC management brought in new management and a new program director, Jim Dunbar, who revamped the station into one of the country's first news/talk stations. While initially unsuccessful, Dunbar stressed the live and local aspect of the programming by running the talkshows every day from locations such as Johnny Kan's Chinese restaurant, Senor Pico's Restaurant, and the legendary Hungry i nightclub. This higher profile caused KGO's ratings to begin a steady climb. Today, KGO has had over 27 years (rated quarterly by Arbitron) as consistently the #1 rated station in the Bay Area, a feat unheard of in broadcasting. The KGO signal also registers in surrounding metropolitan areas as a station listened to. Due to the nature of the signal, which protects WGY, KGO broadcasts essentially on a north-south axis. This makes KGO easy to listen to at night in places like Seattle and San Diego, but difficult to receive in Reno and points east of the Sierra Nevada mountains. Unlike many other talk radio stations in the United States, KGO has limited syndicated programming. The majority of its programs are hosted by broadcasters who live in the San Francisco Bay Area. In addition, KGO has hosts from a wide variety of the political spectrum, unlike most talk radio stations who are either liberal or conservative. Of their weekday hosts, Bernie Ward and Ray Taliaferro are liberal Democrats, Gene Burns is a libertarian-conservative, Ronn Owens is a centrist Democrat, and Pete Wilson is a political centrist. Weekend host and frequent fill-in Dr. Bill Wattenburg is KGO's most conservative host. KGO runs news during the morning and afternoon drive, and an hour of news at noon. Its news coverage tends to have more anchor banter, longer stories, and lighter stories than the hard news format of KCBS. KGO was the radio broadcast home for the San Francisco 49ers football team until 2005. It still broadcasts the college football games of the University of California, Berkeley Golden Bears.

Daily Hosts

- Ronn Owens
- Pete Wilson (broadcaster)
- Gene Burns
- Bernie Ward
- Ray Taliaferro

Weekend Hosts

- Michael Finney - Consumer Talk
- Len Tillem - Radio Lawyer of the Air
- Brian Copeland
- John Rothmann
- Jim Wieder
- Joanie Greggains
- Gene Burns - Dining Around, with Gene Burns
- Karel
- Rich Walcoff
- Bernie Ward - God Talk
- Dr. Bill Wattenburg

Newscasters/Reporters

- Jennifer Jones
- Ed Baxter
- Rosie Allen
- Greg Jarrett
- Joe Starkey
- Jon Bristow
- Lloyd Lindsay Young
- Stan Burford
- Michaelynn Meyers

Substitute Hosts

- Greg Jarret
- Christine Craft
- Gil Gross

Syndicated Hosts

- Dr. Dean Edell
- Paul Harvey
- Bob Brinker

External links

- [http://www.kgoam810.com/ KGO 810 AM] - offers live internet streaming feeds Category:Disney radio stations Category:ABC network affiliates GO-AM GO-AM Category:Class A radio stations in North America

WGY

WGY is an AM talk radio station in the United States, with its studio in Albany, New York, and its transmitter tower near Schenectady, New York. It is a clear-channel station in the old sense of the word, i.e. it operates a class I-B license, which requires at least 10,000 watts of transmitter power 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and allows up to 50,000 watts. WGY transmits on 810 kHz at 50,000 watts. WGY is also a Clear Channel station, in that it is owned and operated by Clear Channel Communications. Category:Class A radio stations in North America

San Francisco Chronicle

The San Francisco Chronicle, the self-described "Voice of the West," is Northern California's largest newspaper. Serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area, it has a daily circulation of over 500,000. The paper has been owned by Hearst Communications, Inc. since July 27, 2000. At one time the Chronicle's competitor, The Examiner, made San Francisco a "two paper" town, even though both papers were printed and distributed by the same company. The Examiner still exists, but is now a free tabloid. The Chronicle was founded in 1865 by brothers Charles deYoung and Michael H. deYoung. As of 2005 the publisher of the Chronicle is Frank J. Vega, the executive vice president and editor is Phil Bronstein, and the vice president and managing editor is Robert Rosenthal. Between World War II and 1965, the newspaper grew from fourth place in circulation to become the city's largest, thanks mostly to colorful columnists led by Herb Caen. The online version of the newspaper, SFGate, is led by vice president Peter Negulescu and news director Vlae Kershner. As well as publishing the San Francisco Chronicle online, SFGate adds other features not available in the print version. The paper has received the Pulitzer Prize on a number of occasions.

External link

- [http://sfgate.com/ Online version of the newspaper] Category:Newspapers of California Category:Hearst Corporation publications Category:San Francisco Bay Area Newspapers

NBC

The National Broadcasting Company or NBC is an American television broadcasting company based in New York City's Rockefeller Center. It is now part of the media conglomerate NBC Universal, and supplies programming to more than 200 affiliated U.S. stations. NBC Universal is a unit of General Electric. The last U.S. network holding company to legally abandon the name behind its acronym, in 2003 the corporate name was shrunk from "National Broadcasting Company, Inc.", as it had been from 1926, to NBC Universal, Inc. following a merger with Vivendi Universal's Entertainment division in 2004. (ABC still occasionally uses American Broadcasting Company or Companies for some copyrights and on-air branding.) Control of the network passed to GE in 1986 following the purchase of NBC's original parent, RCA. Since this acquisition, the President and CEO of NBC has been Bob Wright.

History

Bob Wright]

Radio

The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) radio network went on the air with twenty-four affiliated stations on November 15, 1926. It was owned by Radio Corporation of America (RCA), itself set up in 1919 to control Guglielmo Marconi's American patents; RCA in turn was owned by General Electric Company (GE), the Westinghouse Electric Corporation, the United Fruit Company and American Telephone & Telegraph (AT&T). In a time of consolidation in the radio business, RCA had bought New York station WEAF from AT&T. RCA shareholder Westinghouse had a competing facility in Newark, pioneer station WJZ, which also served as originating station for a loosely-structured network. As NBC took over responsibility for these stations, WEAF and its affiliates became the NBC Red network; the WJZ group was dubbed the NBC Blue network. WEAF had been a laboratory for AT&T's Western Electric, which manufactured transmitters and antennas. AT&T's long-distance and local Bell operating divisions were developing technologies for transmitting voice- and music-grade audio over short and long distances, via both wireless and wired methods. So AT&T's creation of station WEAF in 1922 offered a research-and-development center for these activities. WEAF put together a regular schedule of programs of all types, and created some of the first broadcasts to incorporate commercial endorsements or sponsorships. An immediate success, and created links with other stations to offer coverage of sports or political events. WEAF's first efforts in what would become known first as "chain broadcasting" and later as "networking" tied together Outlet Company's WJAR in Providence, Rhode Island with AT&T's WCAP in Washington, D.C. (named for the Chesapeake and Potomac Telephone Company division of AT&T). RCA also saw an advantage in sharing programming, and after getting a license for station WRC in Washington, D.C. in 1923, attempted to transmit audio between cities via low-quality telegraph lines (since AT&T refused outside companies access to their high-quality phone lines.) The effort was poor at best, with the uninsulated telegraph lines incapable of good audio transmission quality and very susceptible to both atmospheric and man-made electrical interference. In 1925 the management of AT&T decided that WEAF and its network was not compatible with AT&T's goal of providing phone service, and offered to sell the station to RCA, whose business was set manufacturing. When RCA bought WEAF, it gained rights to rent AT&T's phone lines for network transmission. For $1 million, RCA got WEAF and a Washington sister-station, WCAP. It closed WCAP, and created a wholly-owned division called the National Broadcasting Company (it was actually owned 50% by RCA, 30% by General Electric, and 20% by Westinghouse). WEAF and Westinghouse's WJZ and the two networks were operated side-by-side for about a year, but in 1927 NBC formally split the two networks: the NBC Red Network offered entertainment and music programming; the NBC Blue Network carried many of the "sustaining" or non-sponsored programs, especially news and cultural in nature. Legend has it that the color designations originated from the color of the push-pins early engineers used to designate affiliates of WEAF (red pins) and WJZ (blue pins). At various times in the 1930s there were other color designations, with the NBC White, Gold, and Orange networks operating in various configurations in the south, the midwest and on the west coast. The famous three-note NBC chimes came about after several years of trying different musical note combinations. The three note combination (G-E-C; not related at all to RCA's original stockholder General Electric-and as such NBC was basically controlled by GE, since GE held a 30% share combined with RCA's 50%) came from WSB in Atlanta which used it for its own purposes until one day someone at NBC in New York heard the WSB version of the notes during a networked broadcast of a Georgia Tech football game and asked permission to use it on the national network. NBC started to use the three notes in 1931, and it was the first ever audio trademark to be accepted by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. An alternate jingle was also used that went E-G-C-C, known as "the fourth chime" and used during wartime (especially in the wake of the Pearl Harbor bombing) and other disasters. The NBC chimes were mechanized in 1932 by Richard H. Ranger of the Rangertone company; their purpose was to send a low level signal of constant amplitude that would be heard by the various switching stations manned by NBC and AT&T engineers, and thus used as a system cue for switching different stations between the Red and Blue network feeds. Because of fears of offending commercial sponsors by cutting their programs off in mid-sentence, the mechanized chimes were always rung by an announcer pushing a button; they were never set to an automatic timer, although heavy discussions on the subject were held between the Engineering and Programming departments throughout the 1930s and 1940s. NBC became the primary tenant in the brand new Rockefeller Center project in 1936. It would serve as the home of radio operations, some RCA corporate operations, and RCA-owned RKO Pictures. From its creation in 1934, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) had studied the monopolistic effects of network broadcasting on the industry, and found that NBC's two networks and their owned-and-operated stations dominated audiences, affiliates and advertising dollars in American radio. In 1939 the FCC ordered RCA to divest itself of one of the two networks; RCA fought the divestiture order, but divided NBC into two companies in 1940 in case an appeal was lost. The Blue network became the "NBC Blue Network, Inc." and the NBC Red became "NBC Red Network, Inc." 1940 With the loss of the final appeal before the United States Supreme Court, RCA sold the NBC Blue Network, Inc. for $8 million to Lifesavers magnate Edward J. Noble in 1943. For his money Noble got the network name, leases on land-lines and the New York studios, two-and-a half stations (WJZ in Newark/New York, KGO in San Francisco, and WENR in Chicago which shared a frequency with "Prairie Farmer" station WLS), and about 60 affiliates. Noble renamed the company "The Blue Network, Inc." but wanted something more memorable. In 1944 he acquired rights to the name "American Broadcasting Company" from George Storer and the Blue Network became ABC. "NBC Red" reverted to being simply "NBC" when Blue was sold. In the golden days of network broadcasting, 1930 to 1950, NBC was the pinnacle of American radio. Home to many of the most popular stars and programs, NBC stations were often the most powerful, or occupied clear-channel frequencies so that they were heard nation-wide. Such well-known stars as Bob Hope, Jack Benny, Edgar Bergen and Fred Allen called NBC home, as did Arturo Toscanini's NBC Symphony. As television became more popular in the 1950s, many NBC radio stars gravitated there, and by 1960 the radio network's schedule was much reduced. By the late 1960s, there was little more to NBC Radio than news bulletins and news-related features. Since the 1986 acquisition of RCA, NBC has been GE's most consistently profitable division. In compliance with FCC rules, NBC Radio was sold following the sale to GE, to Westwood One. While the chimes and an hourly newscast still appear on radio at certain times on weekdays, the NBC Radio Network as a programming service

KTCT

Sports content

Historical

Schedules and shows

Past programs

Current programming

Weekdays

Weekends

Ongoing

External links

Mediumwave

Antennas

Non-broadcast use

See also

KTCT

Sports content

Historical

Schedules and shows

Past programs

Current programming

Weekdays

Weekends

Ongoing

External links

San Mateo, California

Geography

Demographics

References

External links

San Francisco Giants

New York Giants history

Early days

1930-1950

The "Shot Heard 'Round The World" (1951)

Mays' catch (1954)

The move westward (1957)

San Francisco Giants history

1962

The rest of the 1960s

1970s

1980s

The at-bat (1989)

1990s

2000s

Rivalries

Giants-Dodgers

Giants-Athletics

Quick facts

Baseball Hall of Famers

Retired Numbers

Current roster

Minor league affiliations

References

See also

External links

Clear channel

Clear channels in North America

See also

External links

KGO (AM)

History

Daily Hosts

Weekend Hosts

Newscasters/Reporters

Substitute Hosts

Syndicated Hosts

See also

External links

WGY

San Francisco Chronicle

External link

NBC

History

Radio