Audio Antiques - Gordon McLendon, Radio Wizard

Did you ever wonder why a legal copyright disclaimer is always played during baseball games? It's probably because of Gordon Barton McLendon, a radio broadcaster known as the Old Scotchman. After serving in the military during World War Two, McLendon created the Liberty Broadcasting System, a nationwide radio network that broadcast Major League Baseball games from 1948 to 1953. Those broadcasts never originated from ballparks, they were re-created inside McLendon's studio. Wes Wise, the former mayor of Dallas Texas, worked for McLendon as a sports reporter, and says those re-creations were so vivid, audiences thought McLendon was actually at the scene, and the broadcasts were wildly popular. However, baseball bigwigs later caught on, shut down McLendon's broadcasts, and banned any more re-creations. Mclendon went on to become a multi-millionaire, perfecting the popular Top 40 music radio format in the 1950s and 1960s. He developed pirate radio broadcasting to Europe, and became involved in television, and movies. In 1964–65 he served as a communications adviser to the United States Peace Corps. In 1971 McLendon conducted a month-long all-expense-paid broadcasting course for nine minority-group members, including African Americans, Puerto Ricans, and Mexican-Americans. We will hear Gordon McLendon recreate the New York Giants comeback win over the Brooklyn Dodgers, in the 1951 National League Championship. Then, the Old Scotchman tells his life's story to Dr. Cliff Ganus, president of Harding College in 1969. More at KRobCollection.com