WJFK (AM)

Infobox Radio Station
name = WJFK


city = Baltimore, MD
area = Baltimore, MD
branding = "Baltimore's ESPN Radio 1300"
slogan =
airdate = 1950s
frequency = 1300 kHz
format = Sports
power = 5,000 watts
erp =
class = B
facility_id = 28636
owner = CBS Radio
sister_stations = WHFS, WLIF, WQSR, WWMX
"under CBS Corp. cluster with TV station WJZ-TV"
website = [http://www.espn1300.com/ www.espn1300.com]
callsign_meaning = W John F. Kennedy
affiliations = ESPN Radio

WJFK, the callsign of "ESPN Radio 1300" at 1300 kHz is a sports radio station located in Towson, Maryland, near Baltimore. Despite being under ownership of CBS Radio, it is affiliated with Disney/ABC's ESPN Radio.

The station, at least the signal (1300-AM) has a long and storied history in Baltimore. It began with the callsign WEAR. Later in the 1920s, it changed its name to WFBR, which stood for First Baltimore Regiment, in whose Armory on Preston St. it broadcast from.

By the 1960s WFBR had a CBS affiliation and was a Top-40 music station with a solid news department and extensive local sports coverage. The station had its studios on E. 20th Street in Baltimore City, and a transmitter on the south side of the mouth of the Patapsco River off Waterview Avenue.

In the 1970s, WFBR's on-air talent featured popular personalities such as "The Flying Dutchman" Pete Berry; Ron Matz, and his fictitious alter-ego, "Harry Horni"; Johnny Walker, a wildly popular morning DJ who was "cutting edge" for his time; "The Coach", Charley Eckman, a former NBA basketball coach and referee, who later became a Baltimore sportscasting legend [http://www.pressboxonline.com/story.cfm?id=2183] ; and a young, but experienced, broadcaster named Tom Marr who pulled double-duty as a newsman and sportscaster for the station. For years, WFBR marketed itself as "Mad Radio 13."

In addition to sports and music, WFBR had an award winning news team. One of its most popular news programs was a weekday afternoon panel discussion known as "Conference Call." The award winning program covered news topics of local, state, and national interests and was moderated by longtime newsman Ken Maylath. Regular panelists included WFBR's general manager Harry Shriver, as well as various local politicians from throughout Maryland.

In 1979, WFBR's president and general manager Harry Shriver pulled off a deal that brought the Baltimore Orioles over to WFBR from WBAL, where the ballclub had a stronger signal but an older audience and a management that barely promoted the team. [http://www.examiner.com/a-879789~Harry_Shriver_s_legacy__The_savior_of_AM_radio.html]

From 1979 through 1986, WFBR was the radio flagship station for the Baltimore Orioles. Under the leadership of Shriver, WFBR promoted the O’s to levels unprecedented by its previous flagship station, creating what became known as "Oriole Magic". According to Michael Olesker from the Baltimore Examiner, "it did it nonstop, and it did it at the top of its lungs. The ballclub’s fan base grew younger and louder." [http://www.examiner.com/a-879789~Harry_Shriver_s_legacy__The_savior_of_AM_radio.html] Highlights from the previous night were replayed on Johnny Walker's morning show, who was arguably the city's most popular DJ at the time. And with WFBR being a partial Top 40 rock & roll station, game highlights were played throughout the day reaching a younger generation of listeners. The eight-year marriage of the Orioles and WFBR —1979 to 1986 — included two pennants, a world championship and a couple of close calls (100 wins in 1980, and a 1982 pennant race that was decided on the final day of the season against the Brewers). It also included, not coincidentally, the full emergence of Wild Bill Hagy up in Memorial Stadium’s Section 34, and a remarkable surge in Orioles’ home attendance. According to former O's play-by-play announcer Tom Marr, WFBR helped "put fans in the seats who had never been there before." [http://www.examiner.com/a-879789~Harry_Shriver_s_legacy__The_savior_of_AM_radio.html]

From '79 through '82, the O's radio broadcast team featured longtime O's announcers Chuck Thompson and Bill O'Donnell, along with WFBR veteran Tom Marr. O'Donnell left the broadcast team early in the 1982 season due to an illness from which he eventually died later that year. After the 1982 season, the Orioles moved Chuck Thompson from the radio booth to do the TV broadcasts full-time on WMAR-TV, with Brooks Robinson. Once Thompson left the radio booth, WFBR's general manager Harry Shriver replaced him by hiring the now legendary Jon Miller to team up with Marr on the radio broadcasts. [http://www.examiner.com/a-879789~Harry_Shriver_s_legacy__The_savior_of_AM_radio.html]

After the 1986 season, the Orioles sold their broadcast rights to another station. By that time, Miller was under contract directly with the Orioles and stayed with the team, while Marr was under contract with WFBR and remained at the station to start a successful career as a radio talk-show host. Shortly thereafter, WFBR switched to a "news/talk-radio" format featuring other hosts such as Alan Christian, Les Kinsolving, Joe Lombardo, former Baltimore TV anchor Frank Luber, and Stan "the Fan" Charles.

In 1988, WFBR was sold, changed its call letters, and switched to an "oldies" music format. After the sale and format switch, most of WFBR's former on-air personalities moved to WCBM (680-AM) which was under new management at the time, and adopted WFBR's news/talk format.

Meanwhile, Baltimore's 1300-AM signal briefly became WLIF-AM and was a beautiful music station similar to its sister station WLIF-FM. Eventually the station was sold to Emmis Broadcasting and was renamed WJFK. It was eventually sold to Viacom/CBS. Currently, the WFBR call letters are used by a small AM radio station on 1590 kHz in Glen Burnie, Maryland, which coincidentally, was the home of the late Charley Eckman .

WJFK-AM was originally simulcast with WJFK-FM, a talk radio station that serves the Washington, DC area. Former programs from that era include the Howard Stern and Don and Mike shows.

When the Cleveland Browns relocated to Baltimore in 1996 and became the Ravens, WJFK-AM was named as the team's radio flagship station, with games simulcast on its sister stations WLIF-FM, and later WQSR-FM. Longtime WMAR-TV sports anchor Scott Garceau was named the lead play-by-play man, with former Baltimore Colts running back Tom Matte as the color commentator. WJFK-AM held the broadcast rights for the Baltimore Ravens from 1996 through the 2005 NFL season.

WJFK is now "ESPN 1300", and carries University of Maryland, College Park sporting events (whose rights were previously held by rival station WBAL). WJFK's status as a flagship station for the Baltimore Ravens football franchise ended after the 2005 season; those rights were acquired by WBAL. To fill the gap in the team's coverage, WJFK and sister station WHFS aired "Baltimore Football Uncensored" throughout the 2006 season; the show is hosted by former Ravens announcers Scott Garceau and Tom Matte.

Currently, WJFK's sister station WHFS (105.7 FM) is the current radio flagship station for the Baltimore Orioles.

chedule

Monday Start Finish Show 12:00AM 1:00AM ESPN Game Night 1:00AM 6:00AM All Night with Jason Smith 6:00AM 10:00AM Mike & Mike in the Morning 10:00AM 1:00PM The Mark Viviano Show 1:00PM 3:00PM The Mike Tirico Show3:00PM 7:00PM The Anita Marks Show 7:00PM 8:00PM Orioles Roundtable Show 8:00PM 10:00PM The Pulse 10:00PM 12:00AM ESPN Game Night

TuesdayStart Finish Show 12:00AM 2:00AM ESPN Game Night 2:00AM 6:00AM All Night with Jason Smith 6:00AM 10:00AM Mike & Mike in the Morning 10:00AM 1:00PM The Mark Viviano Show 1:00PM 3:00PM The Mike Tirico Show3:00PM 7:00PM The Anita Marks Show 7:00PM 10:00PM The Pulse 10:00PM 12:00AM ESPN Game Night WednesdayStart Finish Show 12:00AM 2:00AM ESPN Game Night 2:00AM 6:00AM All Night with Jason Smith 6:00AM 10:00AM Mike & Mike in the Morning 10:00AM 1:00PM The Mark Viviano Show 1:00PM 3:00PM The Mike Tirico Show3:00PM 7:00PM The Anita Marks Show 7:00PM 8:00PM Behind the Wheel 8:00PM 10:00PM The Pulse 10:00PM 12:00AM ESPN Game Night

ThursdayStart Finish Show 12:00AM 2:00AM ESPN Game Night 2:00AM 6:00AM All Night with Jason Smith 6:00AM 10:00AM Mike & Mike in the Morning 10:00AM 1:00PM The Mark Viviano Show 1:00PM 3:00PM The Mike Tirico Show3:00PM 7:00PM The Anita Marks Show 7:00PM 8:00PM Terp Talk 8:00PM 10:00PM The Pulse 10:00PM 12:00AM ESPN Game Night

FridayStart Finish Show 12:00AM 2:00AM ESPN Game Night 2:00AM 6:00AM All Night with Jason Smith 6:00AM 10:00AM Mike & Mike in the Morning 10:00AM 1:00PM The Mark Viviano Show 1:00PM 3:00PM The Mike Tirico Show3:00PM 7:00PM The Anita Marks Show 7:00PM 10:00PM The Pulse 10:00PM 12:00AM ESPN Game Night

SaturdayStart Finish Show 12:00AM 2:00AM ESPN Game Night 2:00AM 6:00AM The 'V' Show with Bob Valvano 6:00AM 7:00AM Inside Golf 7:00AM 9:00AM Stan the Fan 9:00AM 11:00AM Ballroom Boxing 11:00AM 2:00PM The Tom Davis Show 2:00PM 3:00PM ESPN Game Day 3:00PM 7:00PM The Huddle 7:00PM 12:00AM ESPN Game Night

SundayStart Finish Show 12:00AM 1:00AM ESPN Game Night 1:00AM 6:00AM The 'V' Show with Bob Valvano 6:00AM 7:00AM Public Affairs 7:00AM 9:00AM Double Bogey Blues 9:00AM 10:00AM The St. Agnes Sports Medicine Show 10:00AM 11:00AM The Press Box w/ Paul Mittermeier 11:00AM 1:15PM Game Time w/ Tony Lombardi 1:15PM 6:00PM NASCAR - Pocono 500 6:00PM 7:35PM The Baseball Show 7:35PM 11:30PM MLB - ESPN Radio Sunday Night Baseball11:30PM 12:00AM ESPN Game Night

External links

* [http://www.espn1300.com WJFK-AM website]
*AMQ|WJFK
*AML|WJFK
*AMARB|WJFK