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Question: What was the flagship radio station for the 1962 San Fran Giants

> In April 1967, KNBR moved from 420 Taylor Street to Fox Plaza -- where KTRB recently took up quarters.

This is, of course, incorrect. As pointed out to me by Carter B. and several others, it's the 1700 Montgomery Street facility that KTRB now utilizes, which was KNBR's home from 1978 until 1990.

And my apologies for the "offensive content" attributed to me that was edited out earlier in this thread. Shocking! Simply shocking!

DJ
 
First Rickradio said: "NBC wanted to move the KNBC call letters to its LA TV station (it signed on in January 1949 as KNBH, channel 4), so KNBC was again changed to KNBR."

Then I said:"I don't think it was stated by anyone above, but I think the change in call letters was precipitated by NBC's desire to take "KNBC" for their O&O TV station in Los Angeles, which had been KRCA prior to 1962 (the RCA corporation then owned NBC)."

Sorry about that Rick. As usual, I was more concerned with talking than listening...as my wife has said "It's all about YOU, isn't it?"

Rick said: "Now, when the changes took place (KNBH/KRCA), and what to what, I don't know."

I'm not sure either. I remember when the Channel 4 (LA) call letters changed from KRCA to KNBC when I was 10 years old - they made a huge deal out of it. But it had been KRCA as far back as I could remember. My parents got their first TV when I was 5 (1957), but I probably wasn't call-letter fluent at that age.
 
tripton99 said:
Damn, I missed the good stuff.
I was the PD at KNBR from '71-"75. Sure wish I coulda had the Giants. We did have the Raiders with Bill King and Scotty Stirling.
Prior to my involvement, the station policy was to play one instrumental every 20 minutes. \
We had 18 minutes of commercials from 6a-7p. We also had five minutes of NBC network news at the top of the hour and almost always a dreadful network feature program on the half hour as well as some local news from the likes of Gene DeCardo, Bob Lazich, Jim Jones etc.
My air staff included Frank Dill in morning drive, Mike Cleary middays, Carter B. Smith in the afternoons, and Dave Niles and Les Williams nights.
Music Director was LaVerne Drake. Sales Mgr was Bill Dwyer and GM was Heber Smith. The legendary Isabel Lemon was hired in 1974 to handle promotions and my dearest friend and programming secretary/admin was Rosie Lee Allen while the news secretary was Cheryl Jennings.
If anyone has access to the ratings of that time; Pulse and Arbitrons, you'll that despite a lot of crap, we still had about a 90% increase in listeners over that 4 year period.

For the good times

Ron Fell
Sydney, Australia
Click to expand...

Ron

Didn't Dave Niles worked at KSFO for a while? I still have a promo pickle from Frank Dil.
 
tripton99 said:
...as well as some local news from the likes of Gene DeCardo, Bob Lazich, Jim Jones etc.
Click to expand...

"Robert Lazich, NBC News, San Francisco"

Back in that era (late 60s-early 70s) didn't he do the last two or three TOH 'casts
on NBC Radio weeknights, after New York "shut down" for the night, in order to
give left coast stations network service until midnight?
 
Correct about Lazich and the network at night. I think New York closed about 10pm Eastern and SF handled a couple of casts. Then it would be lights-out.

Ron Fell
 
I remember working at the station in the twilight of Bob Lazich's career. I could tell right away he was an "original," but willing to change with the times and the demands placed on him. It took me a couple of months to realize he has a speech impediment...something I'm sure he worked hard to eliminate. He was a true professional.
 
sloux said:
I remember working at the station in the twilight of Bob Lazich's career. I could tell right away he was an "original," but willing to change with the times and the demands placed on him. It took me a couple of months to realize he has a speech impediment...something I'm sure he worked hard to eliminate. He was a true professional.
Click to expand...

Bob Lazich and Don Mozley presented the news headlines at last week's Broadcast Legends lunch. He looks and sounds great. (Both gentlermen look and sound great, for that matter.)

> He was a true professional.

What do you mean "was"? He can still deliver the news in that incredibly rich, goosebump-inducing voice. If I was running a station, I'd still hire him in a minute.
 
BossRadioDJ said:
> He was a true professional.

What do you mean "was"? He can still deliver the news in that incredibly rich, goosebump-inducing voice. If I was running a station, I'd still hire him in a minute.
Click to expand...

No need for indignation; I am on your side. Yet I was under the impression he had retired.
 
sloux said:
...I was under the impression he had retired.
Click to expand...

Bob Lazich: Retired, yes. Dead, no.

Me: Indignant, usually. For no reason, usually.
 
This is superb history, thanks very much to all for contributing. And WABC860 of course has history to it too, on the pre-1941 reallocation frequency for the precursor to WCBS, WABC the Atlantic Broadcasting Company shared time with WBOQ.
 
Rickradio said: "NBC didn't own KFI in LA, car dealer Earle C. Anthony did, or I'm sure KFI would've become KNBC."

I remember this on-the-hour ID when I was a kid: "50,000 Watt clear channel Kay - Eff - Eyyyyyyeeeee, Los Angeles, an Earle C. Anthony station!"

KFI in the early 60s was a full service station, and ran the "Standard School Broadcast," a one hour educational radio show for elementary school kids that we had to listen to in class once or twice a week. Please note that "Clear Channel" still had its original meaning in those days.

RE: the above quote from Rick - I'm not sure that's true. Note that San Francisco also had KCBS, while the CBS owned and operated stations in Los Angeles were KNX (AM), KNX-FM, and KNXT (TV). In the 30s and 40s, San Francisco was still considered by many to be the premiere West Coast city - yes, Los Angeles was already larger in population, but it was considered a hick burg by many, including the cultural elite. So perhaps it seemed correct to give the network call letters to the San Francisco stations. Perhaps Channel 4 would have been KNBC-TV if it had been an O&O, and not owned by the Chronicle.
 
In the 30s and 40s, San Francisco was still considered by many to be the premiere West Coast city - yes, Los Angeles was already larger in population, but it was considered a hick burg by many, including the cultural elite.
Click to expand...

Hmmm...didn't know that.

Yeah, I was always puzzled by why CBS left KNX alone, yet when they bought KQW, they changed the letters to KCBS. Your explanation brings it all into focus. I just figured that it was because it was a different network. But I'm sure you figured that the idea that NBC would've changed KFI to KNBC was only conjecture on my part.

Thanks again for the education, Llew. :D
 
"Thanks again for the education, Llew"

I consider it a public service to impart my great wisdom to others. On the other hand, KABC has always been in Los Angeles, so maybe I'm full of s_ _t.
 
BossRadioDJ said:
In November 1962, KNBC became KNBR, after the FCC denied NBC's request to reinstate the original KPO call letters.
Click to expand...
What was the reason the FCC denied this request?

It's just as well though. "KPO 680, your home of everything Giants" just doesn't sound right.
 
awj223 said:
BossRadioDJ said:
In November 1962, KNBC became KNBR, after the FCC denied NBC's request to reinstate the original KPO call letters.
Click to expand...
What was the reason the FCC denied this request?

It's just as well though. "KPO 680, your home of everything Giants" just doesn't sound right.
Click to expand...

Simple enough answer: because the FCC stopped issuing three-letter calls, and they weren't feeling nostalgic about reinstating them.

And you would never have thought twice about "KPO 680, your home of everything Giants" any more than you do about "Hot Talk 560 KSFO" or "KGO News Talk 810." If KPO was (were?) the call letters, you would have gotten used to them. You would never have heard of KNBR -- and those call letters would sound odd to you.

DJ
 
What does or what did the KNBR calls stand for? Was it something like KNB(C)Radio, in other words K National Broadcasting Company Radio?
 
I am all for restoring historic call letters. It would be very nice if some day the very first call letters, KQW, made a comeback. Fat chance KCBS would ever do that, though!
 
when I was a board-op in San Jose in 1983, I remember listening to KMEL. What a terrific station. I think "old-timers" radio is the best radio. Anyone remember Doug Lackey from the old KPIG? I wonder where he is nowadays....
 
What does or what did the KNBR calls stand for?
Click to expand...

I don't think the letters stand for anything, really. KNBC-AM would've kept its call letters, but NBC wanted their LA TV station to have the letters too, and apparently in those days (1962), the FCC rule that the same set of call letters couldn't be used in two different cities was still in effect (for example, KWBR AM & FM: the AM was in Oakland, the FM in SF, so the FM was changed). And since, like DJ said, the FCC won't either issue or reissue 3-letter call signs, going back to KPO was also out of the question for KNBC, therefore, a whole new set of call letters was issued. Now, why it was "KNBR" instead of "KNBU" or "KNBL" or "KNBD" or "KNBwhatever," if anyone has an answer to that, it would be DJ.

An interesting note: when network TV stations first went on the air, they DIDN'T bear the network abbreviation. NBC's New York station went on the air as "WNBT" channel 1, and CBS's New York station went on the air as "WCBW" channel 2, while ABC's New York station began life as "WABD," and as I stated earlier in this thread, "KNBH" was NBC's LA TV O & O until changed to "KRCA" before being again changed to "KNBC."

"KPO 680, your home of everything Giants" just doesn't sound right."
Click to expand...

Only because you're used to hearing "KNBR."

And you would never have thought twice about "KPO 680, your home of everything Giants" any more than you do about "Hot Talk 560 KSFO" or "KGO News Talk 810." If KPO was (were?) the call letters, you would have gotten used to them. You would never have heard of KNBR -- and those call letters would sound odd to you.
Click to expand...

I totally agree. How normal would "KABR News Talk 810" sound after hearing "KGO" all your life?
 
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