^{[disambiguation needed]}

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WJZ, which uses the name "ESPN Radio 1300" is a sports radio station on 1300 kHz, licensed for Baltimore and transmitting from Towson, Maryland. Although under ownership of CBS Radio, it is affiliated with Disney/ABC's ESPN Radio. (Coincidentally, WJZ-TV, the television station that ESPN Radio 1300 shares its callsign with, was an ABC affiliate until 1995.)

[edit] WEAR/WFBR (1920s–1990)

The 1300 kHz frequency has a long history in Baltimore. AM 1300 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 Street 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;^[2] 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^{[citation needed]} 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.^[3]

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."^[3] 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 Milwaukee 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."^[3]

From 1979 through 1982, 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.^[3] Overnights during this period was Al St. John.

After the 1986 season, the Orioles sold their broadcast rights back to WBAL-AM. 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.

[edit] WLIF/WJFK (1990–2008)

In 1988, WFBR was sold to Infinity Broadcasting ( owners of crosstown WLIF-FM ) , 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 kHz signal briefly became WLIF (AM)^[1] and was a beautiful music station similar to its sister station WLIF-FM (now WLIF). The WFBR callsign has since been used by two stations: 95.3 WFBR-LP of Mt Washington, Kentucky; and 1590 WFBR (AM), formerly known as WJRO, in Glen Burnie, Maryland, which coincidentally, was the home of the late Charley Eckman.

Eventually the station was renamed WJFK-AM. WJFK (AM) was originally simulcast with WJFK-FM, a talk radio station that serves the Washington, DC area. This change was precipitated by WJFK-FM's addition of Howard Stern, which was also on Infinity's stations in New York and Philadelphia. This simulcast brought Stern to the Baltimore market.

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 held the broadcast rights for the Baltimore Ravens from 1996 through the 2005 NFL season. 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.

[edit] Current status

1300 WJFK (AM) changed callsign to WJZ (AM) and 105.7 WHFS changed callsign to WJZ-FM on November 3, 2008.^[1] The WJZ callsign was formerly used on WABC from 1922 to 1953. Additionally, the callsigns of all three of Baltimore's major-affiliate TV stations have now been used on the city's radio stations; the WMAR call letters were once used on what is now WWMX-FM. And like WBAL once did with its "Radio 11" branding, WJZ (AM) uses the channel number of its TV counterpart (13) in its own branding.

The present day WJZ is now known as "ESPN 1300", and carries University of Maryland, College Park sporting events, whose rights were previously held by rival station 1090 WBAL.

With the flip of WHFS to WJZ-FM and sports radio, WJZ now has limited local programming on the weekends and is simply a relay of the ESPN national feed the majority of the time.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• WJZ website
• Query the FCC's AM station database for WJZ
• Radio Locator Information on WJZ
• Query Arbitron's AM station database for WJZ
• Isaacs, Stan. "The Orioles Play Stop The Music," Sports Illustrated, October 8, 1979.