670 The Score utilized the day after the MLB All-Star Game, one of the only days of the year with no professional sports happening, to celebrate the station’s 30th anniversary.
All day Wednesday, station shows welcomed back former voices that built the foundation for The Score.
Tom Shaer, the first voice listeners heard when the station went on the air in 1992, told Mike Mulligan and David Haugh that the transmitter would literally be cold when he got to work. Programming at the time didn’t air overnight.
“I used to drive in, and the highways were filled with cars, and I’d say they’re not listening to me, because we’re not on the air yet,” Shaer said. “So we had to start cold…It was a wonderful time, an adventurous time, we felt like pioneers, and we were working in the bunker on Belmont. I wouldn’t trade it.”
“Good morning and good sports,” were the first words Shaer said on the air. He said nothing else that was spoken was written down or typed up.
“It was the only thing I ever scripted in all the years I did that show,” he said. “The rest of it was coming from the heart and what I thought the station was supposed to be based on what Seth Mason and Dan Lee told me.”
Former host Dan Jiggetts reflected with Danny Parkins and Matt Spiegel about having Michael Jordan on his show during his first retirement from the Bulls. Jiggetts told them they had the scoop on Jordan’s return to the Bulls.
“When Micahel came back, we were the first to break the news,” he said. “That was the beginning of all this hubbub over the second run for a three-peat.”
Jiggetts took pride in the fact that they were able to break news and really have access to people with first-hand knowledge of situations.
“We had our fun and everything, but when real news came up we knew how to handle it,” he said. “The most important thing is if you have principles involved in the conversation, to try and get them on the air too. That was always our hope and desire to get the people who are making news on with us to talk about it.”
Legendary host Terry Boers joined his former co-host Dan Bernstein, Laurence Holmes and Leila Rahimi to reflect on his time at the station. Boers talked about the dynamic executive producer Matt Abbatacola had with Bernstein and how it played out on the air.
“One of the most important parts of our show was that fact that (Abbatacola) hated you,” Boers told Bernstein.
Abbatacola made it clear there was no hate there. Just a strong dislike in that setting.
“Let’s set it straight, I didn’t hate Dan,” Abbatacola said. “I just didn’t like Dan.”
“I love Dan dearly, I always will love Dan,” Abbatacola added. “But I also didn’t like Dan at the same time, especially on the air. What people might’ve thought was a bit or part of the show, it was genuine.”
Parkins & Spiegel also opened with a well-produced retrospective on the station’s history that took listeners from the very beginning through some of the best voices and moments over the last three decades.
