Confirmed: the Cavs were once on WBBG/1260 and WRMR/850...

[nate81]

Resolving a discussion on the Cavaliers radio flagship status:

[ http://www.radio-info.com/mods/board?Post=505025&Board=cleveland ]

Johnny Morgan was right on the money.

After Ted Stepien yanked the Cavaliers games from 50KW WWWE/1100, they did land on WBBG/1260 - which was in the early stages of it's "Music of Your Life" format. Even though Stepien changed the uniforms to a mainly beige color, the logo with the "sword guy" was still used by the team. Only when the Gund brothers bought the team did the sword guy go, the colors changed to red-and-blue (became orange-and-blue in 1986), and Cavaliers was officially shorted to "Cavs."

Then, the Cavs landed on then-MOR WRMR/850 for around two years. (For the calls to be WRMR, this had to have been after the WJW calls were turned over from 850 to Channel 8.) And yes, 850's night signal still stunk at this time; therefore, a bunch of affils had to be added as a result. By the end of the decade, the Cavs moved back over to WWWE/1100 - whose calls reverted to WTAM in 1996.

Trivia note: There was one other radio "voice of the Cavs" in the late 80's. Joe Tait was hired by WOIO/"nineteen" to call the games - but they didn't want to have a simulcast with the radio network. So Joe hand-picked Jim Johnson from affil WHBC/1480 in Canton to call the radio games that Joe couldn't.

WOIO held onto the TV rights until 1994, then transferred them over to WUAB/43 when Malrite LMA'ed WUAB, where they are to this day.

- nate81<P ID="signature">______________
Nathan Obral
University Partership Representative: LCCC Student Senate, Elyria, Ohio

The Morning Love with Mark and Sarah - Fridays 9AM EDT on Duck Radio!</P>

 

[JohnnyMorganWXJX]

> Resolving a discussion on the Cavaliers radio flagship
> status:
>
> [
http> ://www.radio-info.com/mods/board?Post=505025&Board=cleveland
> ]
>
>
>
> Johnny Morgan was right on the money.
>
> After Ted Stepien yanked the Cavaliers games from 50KW
> WWWE/1100, they did land on WBBG/1260 - which was in the
> early stages of it's "Music of Your Life" format. Even
> though Stepien changed the uniforms to a mainly beige color,
> the logo with the "sword guy" was still used by the team.
> Only when the Gund brothers bought the team did the sword
> guy go, the colors changed to red-and-blue (became
> orange-and-blue in 1986), and Cavaliers was officially
> shorted to "Cavs."
>
> Then, the Cavs landed on then-MOR WRMR/850 for around two
> years. (For the calls to be WRMR, this had to have been
> after the WJW calls were turned over from 850 to Channel 8.)
> And yes, 850's night signal still stunk at this time;
> therefore, a bunch of affils had to be added as a result. By
> the end of the decade, the Cavs moved back over to WWWE/1100
> - whose calls reverted to WTAM in 1996.
>
> Trivia note: There was one other radio "voice of the Cavs"
> in the late 80's. Joe Tait was hired by WOIO/"nineteen" to
> call the games - but they didn't want to have a simulcast
> with the radio network. So Joe hand-picked Jim Johnson from
> affil WHBC/1480 in Canton to call the radio games that Joe
> couldn't.
>
> WOIO held onto the TV rights until 1994, then transferred
> them over to WUAB/43 when Malrite LMA'ed WUAB, where they
> are to this day.
>
> - nate81
>

Thanks for the research Nate.

Whoever would have thought that the CAVS would be on TWO easy listening-standards stations???

 

[nate81]

> Thanks for the research Nate.
>
> Whoever would have thought that the CAVS would be on TWO
> easy listening-standards stations???

Considering WWWE's relatively unstable format history, it may have been THREE easy listening/MOR/standards stations. Just not back-to-back-to-back.

I would've NEVER guessed that WRMR/850 had the Cavs. By deductive reasoning, this had to take place from about 1987 to 1988 or so. An old 1986 "Radio 11 WWWE" ad I have promotes 1100 as the home of the Indians, Cavs and Browns - not to mention that WJW didn't flip to WRMR until 1985.

I remember that WRMR's owner Booth sold 850 to the Embrescia group, then turned around and bought WWWE from Lake Erie. The Cavs rights must've moved with the sale.

Of course, WRMR's successor at 850, WKNR, held the WNBA's Rockers' rights for a few years...

- nate81<P ID="signature">______________
Nathan Obral
University Partership Representative: LCCC Student Senate, Elyria, Ohio

The Morning Love with Mark and Sarah - Fridays 9AM EDT on Duck Radio!</P>

 

[dab1100]

>
> Considering WWWE's relatively unstable format history, it
> may have been THREE easy listening/MOR/standards stations.
> Just not back-to-back-to-back.

In its somewhat checkered format history, I would never have categorized WWWE as "Easy Listening" or "Standards". From its inception in 1973 and for the first few years, you might have made an argument for MOR. Musically, the station was right on the cusp between AC and MOR. By the mid-70's the station was decidedly AC (Talk, of course, at night). They flipped to Country in 81 and then back to a gold-based AC in (I think) '83. The station then flipped News/Talk in June '85 and has been in come incarnation of that format ever since.


> promotes 1100 as the home of the Indians, Cavs and Browns -
> not to mention that WJW didn't flip to WRMR until 1985.

The Cavs were definitely back on 1100 when Lake Erie (Lerner & Modell) bought it and flipped it News/Talk in '85. The Indians had been there since 1973 and the Browns moved over to 1100 (from WHK) beginning with the '85 season. The Cavs went in-house beginning with the 1988-89 season and I beleive that's when the games moved to 850.


> I remember that WRMR's owner Booth sold 850 to the Embrescia
> group, then turned around and bought WWWE from Lake Erie.
> The Cavs rights must've moved with the sale.

Lake Erie sold 850 to Booth in 1985 (in order to clear the decks for the acquisition of WWWE and WDOK). As per above, the Cavs stayed on 1100 at least through the 87-88 season. The subsequent move to 850 had nothing to do with that sale. Lake Erie then sold WWWE and WDOK to Independent Group (Embrescia, Wilson, Pollack, et. al.) late in 1987. It wasn't until June 1990 that Booth acquired WWWE from Independent and Independent got WRMR along with a check for $10M. I'm pretty sure the Cavs moved back to 1100 with the 90-91 season, but it may not have been until 91 until that happened. The Cavs have been on 1100 ever since.