Chicago Radio Spotlight updates

Click here for updated interviews with WLS Radio's Roe Conn and Cisco Cotto, WGN's Jerry Agar, and former rock jock Bob Hale.

Chicago Radio Spotlight returns

After a summer hiatus, I'm back to interviewing Chicago radio personalities.

Tomorrow I'll post updated interviews with Roe Conn, Cisco Cotto, Jerry Agar, and Bob Hale.

Edwin Starr

#1 on this day forty years ago today, "War." Good God Y'all...

Maddux Debuts

He was just a skinny kid when the Cubs brought him up from Iowa on this day in 1986. No one was predicting a Hall of Fame career for him.

Maybe they couldn't see past the mustache.

Today's Date

It's 9-02-10 today.

Luke Perry's phone may actually ring today.

Star Trek

On this day in 1969, NBC canceled Star Trek, ending the show before the Enterprise crew could even complete their five year mission. The show, and those associated with it, have never been heard from since...


Star Trek TOS - William Shatner SNL - Get A Life - MyVideo

Ernie and Curt Simmons

Curt Simmons was the first pitcher Ernie Banks ever faced in the big leagues in 1954. Just eleven years later, on this day in 1965, Ernie hit his 400th career home run against the same pitcher, Curt Simmons.

By the middle of the following season, the two men were Cubs teammates.

Simmons had a great career. He won 193 career games, and a World Series title with the 1964 St. Louis Cardinals, but with the Cubs he only won seven games in parts of two seasons.

John Lennon meets Van Halen

I know I should find this blasephemous, but I like it. It's David Lee Roth singing "Jump" over the music from John Lennon's "Imagine," and somehow it works...

I Dream of Jeannie

Exactly forty years ago tonight, the last episode of "I Dream of Jeannie" aired. Tony and Jeannie got married. 40 years later, he's old, wrinkled, and retired from the military. She's a Genie. She looks exactly the same...



I'm also betting she no longer calls him "Master."

Lee Smith

One of the greatest relief pitchers in baseball history debuted on this day, exactly thirty years ago.

His name was Lee Smith, and he pitched for one of the worst Cubs teams in history.

Street Fighting Man

One of their very best was released on this day in 1968....

Now this is a mustache!

For my money, it's the best Cubs mustache of all-time.

It belonged to former Cub Ramon Hernandez.

Hernandez was born on this day 70 years ago. Sadly, he passed away last year in his native Puerto Rico.

I am New Orleans

Ronald Reagan

On this day in 1984, President Ronald Reagan was inducted into the Sportscasters Hall of Fame. Yes, it was a move to generate publicity for the Hall of Fame. Yes, it was pure exploitation of a popular president.

But it was also a deserved honor.

Though Reagan only did his sportscasting for WHO radio in Des Moines, he was still one of the most popular radio sportscasters in the country at the time. (How many Iowa broadcasters in history are able to say that?) That's not revisionist history. That's the truth. Every year a list came out of the top ten, and when he was a baseball announcer, Dutch Reagan was on that list.

What team did he broadcast again?

Toy Story 3

The latest gem from Pixar (Toy Story 3) has just passed the one billion dollar mark at the box office. That makes it one of the top ten in history.

My review of the film is here.

KiKi

His nickname was Kiki, which isn't pronounced "key-key," it's pronounced "cuy-cuy" as in his last name "Cuyler."

The Hall of Famer was born on this day in 1898.

Father Knows Nothing

I just posted my latest Father Knows Nothing column at NWI Parent. This one is called "Whoops," and it's about the unintended consequences of a previous Father Knows Nothing column.

You can read it here.