Sports Talk Radio: Art Rust Jr.

When I was a kid in the early 1980s, before WFAN, I listened to Art Rust Jr. talk sports on WABC radio. One day, must have been in 1981 or '82, I was home sick and I got to stay in my parents bed that afternoon. Nobody else was home. I listened to Art and was desperate to ask him a question, the most important question in the world: Will Reggie Jackson hit 500 home runs?

I dialed the number to the show on our red rotary dial phone, over and over. Sometimes, my finger slipped and I had to start over again. Once I dialed, I'd hear a busy signal, hang up, and dial again. Finally, the pattern was broken by a voice. "ABC: Hold." Then silence. I panicked and hung up. Tried again, and again with the busy signal. It dawned on me that I had made it through only to blow it.

I never did get through again. But for years I listened to Art Rust Jr. He was a big boxing fan and his voice was knowing and sure. I felt safe in his company. Yeah, and Reggie got those 500 dingers, too.

[Photo Via: mudwerks]