Reagan’s Radio Days By: Marlina Thompson Chris Stanton Juana Martinez V. Dunia Hijaz Regina Estrada

REAGAN’S RADIO DAYS After his graduation in June 1932, he went back to Lowell Park for another summer so he could save some money and begin paying back his debt for overdue tuition. When he suggested that he wanted to become a radio announcer he was practically laughed out the door, usually without even an interview.

9 Things You Probably Did Not Know About Ronald Reagan's Radio Career 1. Davenport’s WOC - AM Was the first commercial radio station west of the Mississippi River and in 1932 was the first to hire Ronald Reagan. 2. WOC, needed an announcer to broadcast the University of Iowa games. Reagan's first assignment - for $5 and bus fare - was the University of Iowa's homecoming game against Minnesota.

9 Things You Probably Did Not Know About Ronald Reagan's Radio Career 3. After WOC consolidated with WHO in Des Moines...WHO, an NBC affiliate, gave Reagan national media exposure. 4. "Dutch”, a childhood nickname because of his "Dutch boy" haircut, gained national media exposure recreating Chicago Cubs baseball games from the studio.

9 Things You Probably Did Not Know About Ronald Reagan's Radio Career 5. One of his responsibilities was to give accounts of Chicago Cubs baseball games via telegraph. During one game between the Cubs and their arch rivals the St. Louis Cardinals that was tied 0-0 in the 9th inning, the telegraph went dead: An often repeated tale of Reagan's radio days recounts how he delivered "play-by-play broadcasts" of Chicago Cubs baseball games he had never seen. His flawless recitations were based solely on telegraph accounts of games in progress.

9 Things You Probably Did Not Know About Ronald Reagan's Radio Career 6. Once in 1934, during the ninth inning of a Cubs - St. Louis Cardinals game, the wire went dead. Reagan smoothly improvised a fictional play-by-play (in which hitters on both teams gained a superhuman ability to foul off pitches) until the wire was restored.

9 Things You Probably Did Not Know About Ronald Reagan's Radio Career 7. Reagan is quoted saying: “There were several other stations broadcasting that game and I knew I’d lose my audience if I told them we’d lost our telegraph connections so I took a chance. I had Billy Jurges hit another foul. Then I had him foul one that only missed being a homerun by a foot. I had him foul one back in the stands and took up some time describing the two lads that got in a fight over the ball. I kept on having him foul balls until I was setting a record for a ballplayer hitting successive foul balls and I was getting more than a little scared. Just then my operator started typing. When he passed me the paper I started to giggle - it said: ‘Jurges popped out on the first ball pitched.’”

9 Things You Probably Did Not Know About Ronald Reagan's Radio Career 8. Did you know that less than six months after President Ronald Reagan left the office he attended an All-Star Game and did some more broadcasting? 9. His political career started through the presidency of the Screen Actors Guild (SAG). He gained political stature through radio broadcasts and speaking tours sponsored by the General Electric company.

Radio Celebrity (basic information) Ronald Reagan was in a 50,000 watt station called WHO. He interviewed sports and film stars who came through the city. He announced more than 600 games by recreating them from brief messages telegraphed to him in Des Moines.

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