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WAMV (Illinois)

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WAMV, WAMV-FM
Broadcast areaGreater St. Louis
Frequency
Programming
AffiliationsStan-Lin, Inc.
History
First air date
  • May 19, 1935; 89 years ago (1935-05-19)
  • (for WTMV)
  • May 3, 1960; 64 years ago (1960-05-03)
  • (for WAMV-FM)[1]
Last air date
April 24, 1964
Former call signs
  • WTMV (1935–1957)
  • WAMV (1957–1961, 1963–1964)
  • WBBR (1961–1963)
Former frequencies
1500 kHz (1935–1941)
Call sign meaning
ABC Mississippi Valley
Technical information
Power
  • (AM) 500 watts day
  • 250 watts night
ERP(FM) 37,000 watts
HAAT140 ft (43 m)
Transmitter coordinates
38°37′29″N 90°9′39″W / 38.62472°N 90.16083°W / 38.62472; -90.16083

WAMV was a radio station that operated in East St. Louis, Illinois, from 1935 to 1964 on the AM band. An FM adjunct operated on 101.1 FM from 1960 to 1964, using the WAMV-FM call sign at both the beginning and conclusion of its existence.

History

WTMV

WTMV signed on at 6 p.m. on May 19, 1935.[1][2] WTMV broadcast at 1500 kHz and was owned by the Mississippi Valley Broadcasting Company, with studios in the Broadview Hotel.[3] The station relocated to 1490 kHz after NARBA.[4] Almost immediately after the frequency change took effect on March 29, 1941, the station attempted to increase its power from 250 watts during the day to 1,000 watts day and 500 night and to move to 1540 kHz.[5]

1951 publicity photo of Harry Caray at a Griesedieck Bros. microphone; while Griesedieck sponsored Cardinal broadcasts when they were on WTMV, by 1951 they had moved to WIL

In 1945, Carlin French sold WTMV to William F. Johns of Chicago and his son, Myles H. Johns of Milwaukee; both owned radio stations in Wisconsin.[6] That same year, on April 17, 1945, a young Harry Caray called his first Major League Baseball game over WTMV, a Cardinals broadcast with Gabby Street.[7] Additionally, Caray and Street teamed up to broadcast St. Louis Browns games that were also heard on WTMV and WEW.[8][9] Beyond baseball, Caray called St. Louis Flyers hockey,[10] basketball,[11][12] and wrestling events[13] for WTMV. At the same time, Caray hosted KXOK's "Sports Extra" talk show.[14] The station branded itself heavily as "the sports end of your dial"; many WTMV sports broadcasts were sponsored by Griesedieck Brothers beer, which also put together the Cardinals baseball radio network beginning in 1947 with WTMV and WEW as its stations in St. Louis.[15] (The Browns moved all of their games to WIL that same year.[16])

Under Johns ownership, WTMV made the first of two incursions into FM broadcasting. While the station had applied for a station on 47.1 MHz in January 1945, when the FM band was still 42 to 50 MHz,[17] WTMV-FM 102.5 did not begin operations until July 28, 1949.[18] WTMV-FM was not a success; even though the AM-FM stations were profitable in 1949, WTMV tried, to no avail, to get the Federal Communications Commission to waive its minimum hours of operation rule for the FM side.[19] The WTMV-FM license was deleted at the station's request on December 31, 1952.[20]

WAMV

In October 1957, WTMV changed its callsign to WAMV.[21] The station also became the St. Louis ABC affiliate on January 10, 1958, after WIL relinquished the hookup.[22] By this time, WAMV was owned by Robert W. Day and broadcast 24 hours a week of African American programs, as well as two hours a week in Polish.[23]

Radio Missouri Corp. sold WAMV in 1959 to the Hess-Hawkins Co. of East St. Louis for $265,000.[24] May 3, 1960,[1] saw WAMV-FM 101.1 hit the air, simulcasting WAMV's programming.[25]

Final years, WBBR experiment and closure

WAMV's final sale came in 1961, when the Stan-Lin Corp. of Jacksonville, Florida, acquired WAMV-AM-FM from Hess-Hawkins for $350,000.[26] Stan-Lin wasted no time making major changes to WAMV's programming. In July, WAMV-AM-FM became WBBR-AM-FM "Big Beat Radio", with a modern rock-and-roll format.[27] However, the sale application ran into headwinds at the FCC when the commission announced it would review its June 1 approval just a month later, on July 3.[28] While several complaints centered around the format flip planned by Stan-Lin, the sale approval took East St. Louis city officials by surprise. The mayor, Chamber of Commerce, and others protested that they were under the impression the sale had been called off when it had been approved;[28][29] furthermore, an East St. Louis newspaper had reported, as had others who were advised by the station manager,[29] that there would be no change in management or format of the stations.[30] Stating that there were enough available stations in WAMV's former "good music" format, the FCC gave the sale final approval in October,[31] though Pete Rahn, TV and radio editor for the St. Louis Globe-Democrat, denounced the sale of WAMV to "a Southern syndicate that specializes in raucous rhythm-blues programming".[29]

The station ultimately flipped back to the WAMV call letters and ABC Radio affiliation in June 1963.[32] However, financial troubles were brewing that would ultimately mean the end of the station. That same month, Hess-Hawkins initiated foreclosure proceedings against Stan-Lin, alleging it had never been paid; in East St. Louis city court, it received a $314,000 judgment against the current owners. The judgment, secured by a mortgage on station equipment, also named Thomas Carrillo as WAMV's custodian.[33] After Carrillo announced that the station did not have the money to pay its employees, at midnight on April 24, 1964, WAMV permanently ceased operations.[33] The four engineers were told by the custodian to consider themselves laid off.[33] While Stan-Lin applied for permission to sell the station back to Hess-Hawkins so it could be conveyed to a group of East St. Louis businessmen,[33] this never happened. The ABC affiliation for St. Louis was awarded that July to WBBY 590 in Wood River, Illinois.[34]

Comparative hearings for a successor

Further information: KFTK (AM) and WXOS

WAMV's closure marked the beginning of years of hearings and competing applications to return the 1490 kHz frequency to use in East St. Louis. A new East St. Louis Broadcasting Company applied for the frequency in February 1965[35] and was joined by Metro-East Broadcasting. At the start of 1969, FCC hearing examiner Isadore A. Honig proposed the grant of the station to East St. Louis Broadcasting.[36] In finding in favor of East St. Louis, Honig noted the "unusually poor" broadcast record of Metro-East principal Harmon I. Moseley, who had been found of "irresponsible conduct" in his time running KAAB in Hot Springs, Arkansas, where he once attacked other local stations on the air.[36] Later in 1969, however, the FCC review board reversed the hearing examiner's ruling and granted Metro-East's application, saying that Moseley was a relatively small stockholder in the applicant.[37] The hearing proceedings finally ended on September 29, 1971, when the FCC granted the East St. Louis application;[38][39] their WESL went on the air July 10, 1972, more than eight years after WAMV ceased operations.[40]

The FM frequency took far less time to return. On May 13, 1966, the Our Lady of the Snows Shrine of Belleville, Illinois, put WMRY on the air.[41]

References

  1. ^ a b c "WAMV" (PDF). 1964 Broadcasting Yearbook. p. B-48. Archived (PDF) from the original on April 7, 2023. Retrieved September 17, 2019.
  2. ^ "Radio station WTMV". St. Louis Star and Times. May 20, 1935. p. 18. Archived from the original on April 7, 2023. Retrieved September 17, 2019.
  3. ^ "E. Side Broadcasting Station Open Tomorrow". St. Louis Globe-Democrat. May 18, 1935. Retrieved September 17, 2019.
  4. ^ "Tuning Guide for New Radio Wave Lengths In St. Louis Area Beginning Next Saturday". St. Louis Star and Times. March 26, 1941. p. 3. Archived from the original on April 7, 2023. Retrieved September 17, 2019.
  5. ^ "Here and There on the Air". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. April 6, 1941. Retrieved September 17, 2019.
  6. ^ "East Side Station Is Sold". St. Louis Star and Times. February 23, 1945. Archived from the original on April 7, 2023. Retrieved September 17, 2019.
  7. ^ Dorman, Larry (May 23, 1993). "WILD ABOUT HARRY CUBS BROADCASTER CARAY IS FAN FAVORITE". South Florida Sun-Sentinel. Archived from the original on June 28, 2021. Retrieved September 17, 2019.
  8. ^ "Monday Night's Programs". St. Louis Star-Times. June 17, 1946. Archived from the original on April 7, 2023. Retrieved September 24, 2019.
  9. ^ "'Gabby' Street To Visit Jacksonville Next Wednesday". Jacksonville Tribune. January 12, 1947. p. 61. Archived from the original on April 7, 2023. Retrieved September 24, 2019.
  10. ^ "Tonight Hear the "Flyers" Game". St. Louis Star and Times. January 15, 1946. Archived from the original on April 7, 2023. Retrieved September 17, 2019.
  11. ^ "Tonight Basketball: St. Louis U. versus Notre Dame". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. January 14, 1946. Archived from the original on April 7, 2023. Retrieved September 17, 2019.
  12. ^ "BASKETBALL For Championship Western Division B. A. of A." St. Louis Post-Dispatch. March 31, 1947. Archived from the original on April 7, 2023. Retrieved September 22, 2019.
  13. ^ "Tonite - 10 P. M., All-Star Wrestling, described by Harry Caray". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. April 3, 1946. Archived from the original on April 7, 2023. Retrieved September 22, 2019.
  14. ^ "Harry Caray, Ace Sports Announcer Heard on "Sports Extra", Mon. thru Sat. 5:45 p.m. - KXOK, 630 on Your Dial". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. July 25, 1947. Archived from the original on April 7, 2023. Retrieved September 24, 2019.
  15. ^ "KWOS to Carry All Card Games This Summer". The Sunday News and Tribune. February 23, 1947. p. 13. Archived from the original on April 7, 2023. Retrieved September 22, 2019.
  16. ^ "Dizzy Dean, Johnny O'Hara Signed To Broadcast All Browns' Home And Road Games". St. Louis Star-Times. January 28, 1947. p. 17. Archived from the original on April 7, 2023. Retrieved September 24, 2019.
  17. ^ "East Side Radio Permit Sought". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. January 17, 1945. Archived from the original on April 7, 2023. Retrieved September 17, 2019.
  18. ^ "WTMV-FM Starts" (PDF). Broadcasting. August 8, 1949. p. 69. Archived (PDF) from the original on April 7, 2023. Retrieved September 17, 2019.
  19. ^ "FM Hours: WTMV Waiver Bid Denied" (PDF). Broadcasting. July 23, 1951. p. 24. Archived (PDF) from the original on April 7, 2023. Retrieved September 17, 2019. (Note that this piece erroneously states WTMV is in Evansville, Indiana.)
  20. ^ "Existing FM Stations" (PDF). Broadcasting. January 19, 1953. p. 118. Archived (PDF) from the original on April 7, 2023. Retrieved September 17, 2019.
  21. ^ "Existing AM Stations" (PDF). Broadcasting. October 14, 1957. p. 108. Retrieved September 17, 2019.
  22. ^ "Station WAMV Joins ABC Radio Network Monday". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. January 9, 1958. Archived from the original on April 7, 2023. Retrieved September 17, 2019.
  23. ^ "WAMV" (PDF). 1958 Broadcasting Yearbook. 1958. p. A-277. Archived (PDF) from the original on April 7, 2023. Retrieved September 17, 2019.
  24. ^ "Sale of Station WAMV Gets FCC's Approval". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. July 24, 1959. p. 3A. Archived from the original on April 7, 2023. Retrieved September 17, 2019.
  25. ^ "FM Radio Fans". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. May 4, 1960. Archived from the original on April 7, 2023. Retrieved September 17, 2019.
  26. ^ "WAMV Sale for $350,000 Gets Approval of FCC". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. June 3, 1961. p. 2A. Archived from the original on April 7, 2023. Retrieved September 17, 2019.
  27. ^ "Radio Station WAMV". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. July 18, 1961. Archived from the original on April 7, 2023. Retrieved September 17, 2019.
  28. ^ a b "FCC Will Reopen WAMV Sale Case". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. July 3, 2019. p. 9B. Archived from the original on April 7, 2023. Retrieved September 17, 2019.
  29. ^ a b c Rahn, Pete (June 5, 1961). "Eastsiders Must 'Hit' Wamv 'Deal'". St. Louis Globe-Democrat. Archived from the original on September 23, 2019. Retrieved September 22, 2019.
  30. ^ Deakin, James (July 16, 1961). "FCC Reviewing East Side Radio Station's Sale". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. p. 3A. Archived from the original on April 7, 2023. Retrieved September 17, 2019.
  31. ^ "FCC Gives Final Approval to Sale of Station WAMV". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. October 5, 1961. Archived from the original on April 7, 2023. Retrieved September 17, 2019.
  32. ^ "Radio Station WBBR, WBBR-FM". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. June 12, 1963. p. 8F. Archived from the original on April 7, 2023. Retrieved September 17, 2019.
  33. ^ a b c d "Financial Trouble Closes East Side Radio Station". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. April 28, 1964. p. 8C. Archived from the original on April 7, 2023. Retrieved September 17, 2019.
  34. ^ "Radio Station WBBY". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. July 28, 1964. p. 6D. Archived from the original on April 7, 2023. Retrieved September 17, 2019.
  35. ^ "East St. Louis Company Seeks WAMV's Frequency". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. February 28, 1965. Archived from the original on April 7, 2023. Retrieved September 17, 2019.
  36. ^ a b "E. St. Louis Radio Station Application Is Indorsed". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. January 8, 1969. p. 4E. Archived from the original on April 7, 2023. Retrieved September 17, 2019.
  37. ^ "FCC Grants East Side Radio Permit". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. September 2, 1969. p. 3A. Archived from the original on April 7, 2023. Retrieved September 17, 2019.
  38. ^ "New AM stations" (PDF). Broadcasting. October 11, 1971. p. 57. Archived (PDF) from the original on January 13, 2023. Retrieved September 17, 2019.
  39. ^ "Price Firm Is Denied East Side Radio Station". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. October 7, 1971. Archived from the original on April 7, 2023. Retrieved September 17, 2019.
  40. ^ "WESL" (PDF). 1976 Broadcasting Yearbook. p. C-58. Archived (PDF) from the original on April 7, 2023. Retrieved September 22, 2019.
  41. ^ "WMRY-FM Goes On Air". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. May 13, 1966. p. 3A. Archived from the original on April 7, 2023. Retrieved September 17, 2019.
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