Mighty 1090, End of an Era, JRP0048

May 3, 2019
Mighty 1090, Mighty 690, John Riley Project

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 43:27 — 19.9MB)

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(queue the Mighty 1090 Hacksaw voice) Take a walk down memory lane….

We start off discussing the early days of the Mighty 690 as they transitioned from a news station to 2nd all sports radio format in America.  Everything must start with Lee Hacksaw Hamilton and the Best 15 Minutes in Radio.  The Mighty 690 and Lee Hamilton were a huge part of my life in the 1990s as I transitioned from a San Francisco sports fan to fully embracing San Diego sports.  We get into all of Hacksaw’s memorable catch phrases, the ego and the voice.  We talk about his visit to Mama Cella’s in Rancho Bernardo and the great interview Scott Kaplan had with him earlier this year.

  • I am bleeping brilliant!
  • I am The Franchise
  • I built Sports Talk Radio
  • Poway Penasquitos, get those lines lit!
  • High Speed Sports Wire
  • Baja to the Canadian Rockies
  • Blowtorch Signal!
  • Summer Book Tour
  • Tour of the NFL/MLB Training Camps
  • Show Me Your Lightning Bolt!
  • Reaction
  • Agree or Disagree
  • Goodnight now!
  • Yasmani Grandballs, gaffes
  • Talk to me Poway!

We discuss the growth of the Mighty 690 starting with Jim Rome and his Scrub Saturday Show.  Then we watch his meteoric rise to national super stardom.  We discuss the Boom Town Rats, The Clones, Block Heads, The Gloss, Jim Everett, national syndication, his great interview style and a great interview he had with the Mighty 1090’s Darren Smith about his early days in San Diego.

We get into so many others in the early days of San Diego Sports Radio including Steve Hartman, Loose Cannons, Chet Forte, Philly Billy Werndl, Jeanne Zelasko, Steve Mason, John Ireland, Craig Elston, Chris Ello and the Bulldog Joe Tutino.

Who can forget the days when the Mighty 690 was the home of the San Diego Chargers?  The games called by Hacksaw, Jim Laslavic and Philly Billy.  The huge pre and post-game shows.  “Everybody into the pattern” and the great 1994 season and 1995 Super Bowl.

Then we get into the Mighty 1090 era.  We discuss lovable Coach John Kentera, including the amazing impersonation by Jeff Dotseth.  We discuss the Great Friends, Scott Kaplan, Billy Ray Smith, Torrey Pines Baseball, Darren Smith, Marti Caswell, High IQ sports radio, Ben Higgins, Steven Woods, Dan Sileo, Low IQ sports radio and Hacksaw’s time in television.

I talk about the conditions that led me to drift away from AM radio and then wonder about the future of these great personalities. 

Related Articles/Links:

JRP0048

John Riley Project Info:

Agree or Disagree | Baja to the Canadian Rockies | Ben Higgins | billy ray smith | Block Heads | Blowtorch Signal | Boom Town Rats | Bulldog Joe Tutino | Chet Forte | Chris Ello | Coach John Kentera | Craig Elston | Darren Smith | Dave Palet | Drug Test | Everybody into the pattern | get those lines lit | Goodnight now | Great Friends | High Speed Sports Wire | I am bleeping brilliant | I am The Franchise | I built Sports Talk Radio | Jeanne Zelasko | Jeff Dotseth | Jim Everett | Jim Laslavic | Jim Rome | John Ireland | Lee Hacksaw Hamilton | Loose Cannons | Marti Caswell | Mighty 1090 | Mighty 690 | Philly Billy Werndl | Poway Penasquitos | Reaction | San Diego Chargers | Scott Kaplan | Scrub Saturdays | Show Me Your Lightning Bolt | Steve Hartman | Steve Mason | Steven Woods | Summer Book Tour | Talk to me Poway | The Clones | The Gloss | Torrey Pines Baseball | Tour of the NFL Training Camps | Up All Night | Yasmani Grandal | Yasmani Grandballs