STLMHF

France Laux – Legacy

France Laux has been called St. Louis’ “pioneer baseball voice,” a tribute that referred to his work with the St. Louis Browns and St. Louis Cardinals. He was the voice of baseball for 19 years on KMOX starting in 1929. The Sporting News presented him with its first award to the nation’s outstanding major league broadcaster in 1937. He did radio play-by-play in nine World Series and nine Major League All-Star Games, but his work wasn’t limited to baseball. Laux also broadcast boxing, football, wrestling, hockey and basketball. His voice was also heard on KXOK in St. Louis as part of his play-by-play baseball agreements, but his association with KMOX lasted 30 years. His list of broadcast booth sidekicks reads like a “Who’s Who” of sports: Gabby Street, Dizzy Dean, Pepper Martin, Joe Medwick, Leo Durocher and Frankie Frisch. He often bragged that he had worked for 20 years without missing a broadcast or arguing with a player or umpire.

Doug Eason – 2011

After working as a broadcast specialist for the Armed Forces Radio and Television Service, Doug Eason made his mark in commercial radio in a career that spanned over 40 years. The majority of those years were spent in St. Louis radio, where Eason was remembered by his listeners as a gentle-voiced disc jockey and strong presence in his community. However, the man affectionately known to his co-workers as “The Leprechaun” also worked as VP/GM of KATZ and WESL. His degree from SIU Carbondale opened doors for him later in his life. While teaching full-time and mentoring high school students, Doug Eason also hosted a daily show on WGNU.

“Gentleman” Jim Gates – 2011

The career of Gentleman Jim Gates began at KATZ in 1968. After three years, he moved to KWK, followed by WESL, where he was co-owner of the station and served as GM and PD. In 1986 he returned to KATZ as GM. He also worked at KXOK in 1993 and them KMJM where his show was the highest-rated on the station. In 2000 Jim had a show on the Peabody Award-winning KJZJ, and he also worked at WFUN-FM and KTGP. Known as “The Brown-Eyed Scorpio, Gates earned over 40 Gold Records from the music industry. He became the first station executive in the country to air Rap when he programmed the Sugarhill Gang’s “Rapper’s Delight.” The NAACP presented Jim Gates with its Legend Award in 2008.

Wiley Price, Jr. – Legacy

Wiley Price, Jr. got his first job in radio in 1944, when he was 31 years old. WTMV, licensed to East St. Louis, gave Price a regular, daily program, thus making him the first African-American in this market to host a radio show. A military veteran, Wiley Price was responsible for selling the ads on his program and was expected to pay the station for the airtime. He had subsequent shows on KXLW and KSTL under similar financial arrangements. Calling himself “Mrs. Price’s boy Wiley,” Price focused on what was then called “race music,” but he left the radio business when the station owners insisted he play the new music form, rock and roll.

Thomas Patrick Convey – Legacy

Thomas Patrick Convey was, first and foremost, a promoter. In 1925 he helped organize a group of major business owners who financed the building of KMOX, which Convey then managed for a short time. He then used his own money to buy a local station that had gone off the air. KFVE’s call letters were soon changed to KWK, and Convey and his family managed their station over a couple decades. He was also frequently heard on the air as “Thomas Patrick” providing play-by-play of Cardinals’ and Browns’ games on the station. His son Bob took over management of the station after his death in 1934.

Ed Wilson – Legacy

Ed Wilson’s St. Louis radio career spanned 30 years, with a brief hiatus for a trip to California.

In May of 1942 he moved to St. Louis from a radio job in Chicago and became a folksy-talking disc jockey at KWK, a job he held for 16 years. He had a huge fan base among teenagers and also hosted a local teen dance show on television, the weekly “St. Louis Hop.”

A change in KWK’s ownership was the motivation for Wilson to move uptown to KSD in 1958, where his popularity continued. When he went to Hollywood to try his hand at movies, Wilson’s voice was still heard here. He appeared on KSD via recorded programs and still voiced many local commercials.

Returning to St. Louis in 1962, Ed Wilson admitted movies were not for him, and he took a disc jockey job at WIL. After two years there, he took a job at WEW, only to return to WIL in 1970.