STLMHF

Jack Buck – 2006

For several generations of baseball fans, Jack Buck’s voice was permanently linked to the St. Louis Cardinals. He came to St. Louis to be a play-by-play announcer for the team in 1954. In addition to his work in the booth for the Redbirds, he held many more jobs. At KMOX, listeners heard him doing play-by-play for St. Louis Cardinals football, University of Missouri basketball and football, and, for a short time, St. Louis Blues hockey. He also did Monday Night Football for CBS Radio and broadcast numerous Superbowls and World Series games. For several years in succession, he logged over 200,000 air miles annually. He is a member of the broadcast wing of the Baseball Hall of Fame and was given the Pete Rozell Award by the National Football League. Jack Buck also established himself as a strong team member at KMOX. He was a disc jockey in the late 50s, and was the host of the first “At Your Service” program February 29, 1960. He hosted Christmas morning programs from his home every year, and, in the ultimate indication of community involvement, was known to host up to 250 civic and charitable events a year. Although Buck was revered in St. Louis as the radio voice of the Cardinals, his television sports career made him known to the nation’s sports fans. His voice was heard on telecasts of 17 Super Bowls, 11 World Series and four Major League All-Star Games. He was in the TV booth for ABC’s baseball Game of the Week during the 1960 season and for the CBS broadcasts of NFL Football in 1963. Buck was also a regular on many Cardinal baseball telecasts originating in St. Louis over the team’s TV network.

Betsey Bruce – 2008

Veteran broadcaster Betsey Bruce is one of St. Louis’ most respected television journalists. She worked as both an anchor and a reporter specializing in public affairs, education and political reporting. She began as a writer and then moved to reporter and anchor at KMOX-TV (now KMOV) before joining the staff at KTVI in 1989. She was a member of the KMOX-TV news team, which launched the nation’s first electronic news gathering broadcasts using video mini-cameras and microwave live trucks. She won several awards for her reporting, including the national 1994 Clarion award from Women in Communications for her special report on the St. Louis County Special School district.

Jim Bolen – 2009

Jim Bolen’s first St. Louis TV job was as a substitute in the Channel 4 sports department, but it was his appearance in 1958 was as a character on a local children’s show that launched his full-time career on the tube. His role as Cooky on Cooky and the Captain lasted for nine years. Later he anchored weather and sports segments for the station, and worked as a reporter and as news anchor for the noon news show. Bolen won an Emmy for Best Sportscaster in 1982 and was cited by the Missouri Broadcasters’ Association as best sports reporter in 1973 and best performer-host in 1986.

Charles Bohn – 2009

Charles Bohn helped put KSTL radio on the air, then went to KSD-TV as a vacation relief engineer. Later, working at KWK Radio as an engineer, he was able to move to television full time where he became one of the market’s first newsreel cameramen. When KWK-TV went on the air in 1954, Charlie Bohn was given the responsibility of setting up the facilities, and he designed and built the station’s first film processing lab. Working at Channel 4, Bohn literally traveled the world on assignments. He covered every president who held office during his career as a cameraman. He was one of the first people to receive a Silver Service Award from NATAS.

John Auble – 2011

John Auble came to St. Louis in 1967 to work for the old St. Louis Globe.  After newspaper work in other cities, he returned to a job at KSD-TV. In 1988 he moved to KTVI. He scored a number of high-profile exclusives including the very first interview with James Earl Ray (confessed assassin of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.), Coretta King, Rosa Parks, Olympian Wilma Rudolph, St. Louis Mafia don Mike Trupiano and Ike Turner, among others.  He is credited with helping to free Patti Stallings after she was convicted of murdering her son by feeding him antifreeze. The child actually died from a rare genetic disorder.  Among his honors are seven Emmy awards, induction into the NATAS “Silver Circle” for his lifetime achievements in the media, “Media Man of the Year” by the Missouri Police Chiefs’ Association, and others.

Spencer Allen – 2006

Allen had a casual and relaxed style in delivering the news. His easy manner won the confidence and trust of many viewers. After graduating from the University of Missouri School of Journalism he started his career in radio, working at stations in Missouri and Texas. In 1941 He moved to Chicago to work at WGN radio. During World War II, he served in the Army as public relations officer at Fort Monmouth Signal Corps Training Center in New Jersey. After the war, he rejoined WGN in Chicago and established one of the first local television news operations before coming to St. Louis in 1958 and joining KMOX-TV, where he became news director and chief news anchor. In 1964, Mr. Allen went to rival KTVI, but only spent three years there before returning to KMOX-TV as editorial director. In 1972, he left television to teach in the graduate program of UM’s journalism school.