Eddie Andelman

Last updated

Eddie Andelman (born 1937 [1] ) is an American sports radio talk-show host. He has worked over 40 years in sports talk radio in Boston and has appeared on more than 100 sports stations throughout the country.

Contents

Early life and education

Andelman was born in the Boston neighborhood of Dorchester and raised in Brookline. [2] He graduated from Boston University and earned an MBA from Northeastern University. Before starting his career in radio with WBZ in 1969, he ran his family's real estate development business. [3]

Career

Andelman's career in sports talk radio began in June 1969 on suburban station WUNR. [4] His show Sports Huddle then moved to Boston's WBZ later that year. Airing on Sundays from 7-10 p.m., the show also featured Jim McCarthy and Mark Witkin. Andelman remained at WBZ until mid-1971, when he and the show moved to WEEI. He began a television program for WNAC (now WHDH) Channel 7 in November 1972, which lasted until early 1976. He has also appeared as a host on WCVB Channel 5.

Andelman's Sports Huddle show moved to WTKK and lasted for many years until December 26, 2010. [5]

Personal life

Andelman's son David created the Phantom Gourmet restaurant-review television show. His other sons, including Dan Andelman, host the show.

Andelman and his wife Judith (whom he often called "the fabulous Judy" on his Sports Huddle talk show) live in West Palm Beach, Florida. [1] They were made honorary goodwill ambassadors by the Aruba Tourism Authority after having visited the island 53 times over 35 years. [6]

Charitable work

Hot Dog Safari

Andelman is involved with many charitable organizations, but is best known in the New England area for his Hot Dog Safari, which he has hosted since 1990, that raises money for the Joey Fund and Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. [7] The idea for the event was conceived during one of his Sports Huddle shows when he named the hot dog the ultimate sports food. He and his callers then debated about the best hot dogs in the area. Andelman organized a bus trip for 200 people to various hot-dog stands. The proceeds from ticket sales were directed to the Joey Fund. Since then, the event has grown and now includes local celebrities, members of the media and professional athletes. It has raised more than a million dollars for the Joey Fund and Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.

Other charitable works

Andelman's other efforts for charity have included:

Recognition

WEEI

Andelman worked at WEEI for ten years until his abrupt departure in December 2001. Reports described him as unhappy with the direction that the station had taken toward more confrontational shows such as The Dennis and Callahan Show and The Big Show. He was also said to be unhappy when the station paired him with cohost Dale Arnold for the A-Team show. Although Arnold denied any personal problems with Andelman, some reports indicated that the men disliked each other. [8] [9] WEEI replaced Andelman with former television sportscaster Bob Neumeier.

Comments about WEEI

Regarding the current state of sports radio, including WEEI, Andelman observed:

"I’ve been planning this show at WTKK for almost two years. Radio should be a theater of the mind, not screaming and stupidity. ... WEEI has too many people who are not trained and not educated. They pay players and coaches to be on their shows. Then they have to watch what questions they ask. I won't pay guests. Sports radio has become public relations. Everyone kisses ass." [10]

Andelman pledged to start a movement called Fans Against Idiot Radio (FAIR) as an antidote to "venomous" WEEI. [11]

WWZN (WMEX)

In early 2002, Andelman joined WWZN, a direct competitor to WEEI in Boston [11] that also featured former Red Sox play-by-play announcer Sean McDonough and Ryen Russillo. The station also acquired the rights to broadcast Boston Celtics games for five years. WWZN eventually sold its Celtics rights to WRKO and replaced all local broadcasts in October 2005 with a nationally syndicated lineup. [12]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WBZ (AM)</span> American radio station in Boston

WBZ is a Class A clear channel radio station licensed to Boston, Massachusetts. Originally started, and formerly owned for most of its existence, by Westinghouse Broadcasting and its successor CBS Radio, WBZ is owned and operated by iHeartMedia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WEEI (AM)</span> Radio station in Boston

WEEI is a commercial sports gambling AM radio station licensed to Boston, Massachusetts, serving Greater Boston and much of New England. Owned by Audacy, Inc., WEEI is the Boston affiliate for the Audacy-owned BetQL Network and CBS Sports Radio, serving as a gambling-focused brand extension of its main sports radio station in the market, WEEI-FM. The WEEI studios are located in Boston's Brighton neighborhood, while the station transmitter resides in the Boston suburb of Needham. In addition to a standard analog transmission, WEEI is available online via Audacy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WZLX</span> Classic rock radio station in Boston

WZLX is a classic rock radio station in Boston, Massachusetts. This station is owned and operated by iHeartMedia. WZLX was one of America's first classic rock FM stations. Its studios are in Medford, and its transmitter is atop the Prudential Tower.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WBQT (FM)</span> Rhythmic contemporary radio station in Boston

WBQT is a commercial FM radio station in Boston, Massachusetts. It is owned by the Beasley Broadcast Group and airs an urban-leaning rhythmic hot AC radio format. WBQT's studios and offices are located in Waltham. Its transmitter is atop the Prudential Tower in Boston's Back Bay neighborhood.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WEEI-FM</span> Sports radio station in Lawrence, Massachusetts, serving Boston

WEEI-FM – branded SportsRadio 93.7 WEEI-FM – is a commercial sports radio station licensed to Lawrence, Massachusetts, serving Greater Boston and much of surrounding New England. Owned by Audacy, Inc., WEEI-FM is the Boston affiliate for CBS Sports Radio, the NFL on Westwood One Sports, the flagship station for the Boston Red Sox Radio Network; and the radio home of Greg Hill, Lou Merloni, Christian Fauria and Jermaine Wiggins.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WWBX</span> Boston radio station

WWBX is a radio station with a hot adult contemporary format in Boston, Massachusetts. The format started at 98.5 FM on February 9, 1991, and moved to 104.1 FM, replacing WBCN on August 12, 2009, to allow for the launch of WBZ-FM at 98.5 the next day. Its studios are located in Brighton, and its transmitter is on the upper FM mast of the Prudential Tower.

The Phantom Gourmet is a food-related television program featuring profiles of New England area restaurants. The show airs on WSBK-TV in Boston, Massachusetts, WNAC-DT2 in Providence, Rhode Island, and WPXT in Portland, Maine each Saturday and Sunday morning, with an hour episode composed of older clips followed by an hour-long episode. While the original format featured reviews by the "Phantom Critic" and numerical ratings of the restaurants, the reviews and numerical ratings have been discontinued. The show continues to feature local restaurants but focuses on describing dishes and profiling chefs and owners. In late spring of 2006, the company behind the show came out with its first Boston restaurant guide, entitled The Phantom Gourmet Guide to Boston's Best Restaurants.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WMEX (AM)</span> Radio station in Quincy, Massachusetts, United States

WMEX is a commercial AM radio station licensed to Quincy, Massachusetts, and serving the Greater Boston media market. It is owned by L&J Media, headed by Tony LaGreca and Larry Justice. WMEX broadcasts an oldies radio format of hits from the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, as well as full service features including local DJs, news, traffic and weather. Late nights and weekends, it uses the MeTV FM syndicated music service. The radio studios and offices are on Enterprise Drive in Marshfield.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WEZE</span> Religious radio station in Boston

WEZE – branded 590 AM The Word – is a commercial Christian radio station licensed to Boston, Massachusetts, serving Greater Boston and much of surrounding New England. Owned by Salem Communications, WEZE is the Boston affiliate for the Salem Radio Network. The WEZE studios are located in the Boston suburb of North Quincy, and the station transmitter resides in neighboring Medford. Besides a standard analog transmission, WEZE is available online.

The Big Show is a former sports talk radio program hosted by Glenn Ordway on Boston's WEEI-FM 93.7 FM. Started in August 1995, the show was hosted by Ordway and former Boston Globe columnist Michael Holley. The show ended on March 19, 2013.

Glenn Ordway is an American retired sports radio and television personality based in the Boston area. He also spent over a decade as a radio sports commentator for Boston Celtics games.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hot Dog Day</span>

Hot Dog Days are informal events that are celebrated in communities throughout the hotdog-eating world, including the United States, Canada and Australia. The earliest known Hot Dog Day was held in Alfred, New York in 1972. As the name suggests, the festivals revolve around eating hot dogs, but usually there are many other activities such as wiener dog races, root beer chugging contests, and face painting. Often the proceeds from a hot dog day are given to charity.

Dennis and Callahan was an American morning radio show on WEEI-FM, a sports radio station in Boston, Massachusetts. On November 16, 2010, a live three-hour simulcast began airing on NESN at 6–10 AM Eastern time each weekday. The show combines talk of sports and politics, along with current or "water cooler" issues. The show premiered in 1997 with sportswriter Gerry Callahan and former WHDH Sports Director John Dennis, and it received strong ratings until WEEI received ratings competition in 2009 with the launch of CBS Radio's sports station, WBZ-FM (98.5); the ratings began to fall from the peak.

John Adron Dennis is a former American broadcaster best known as the co-host of WEEI-FM sports radio's former Dennis and Callahan morning show.

Theodore A. Sarandis is an American sports radio personality in Boston who was the host of the Ted Nation show that was broadcast weeknights on Boston sports radio station WEEI from 1992 until September 2005. He was also the play by play announcer for Boston College Basketball from 1995 to 2010. Sarandis is a graduate of Newhouse School of Communications at Syracuse University.

Daniel Jacob Andelman, known as Dan, is one of the hosts of the WSBK-TV 38 show The Phantom Gourmet and had been hosts of the WTKK Radio 96 radio show Phantom Gourmet. The Andelman brothers took over the Phantom Gourmet hosting duties from David Robichaud who left the show in their hands. Andelman took over as CEO when his brother Dave left the company in 2020.

Dale Everett Arnold is a New England sportscaster. He hosts Boston Bruins broadcasts on NESN and co-hosted talk radio shows on WEEI until his retirement from radio on March 12, 2021, announced the day before. He was the Bruins' play-by-play announcer on NESN and has called Boston College Eagles football. He is the only person to have done play-by-play broadcasts for all five of the Boston area's major professional sports franchises.

Robert E. Neumeier was an American sportscaster for several Boston-area media outlets. He also appeared on NBC Sports, specializing in Thoroughbred racing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WBZ-FM</span> Sports radio station in Boston

WBZ-FM is a commercial sports radio station licensed to Boston, Massachusetts, serving Greater Boston and much of surrounding New England. Owned by the Beasley Broadcast Group, WBZ-FM is the Boston affiliate for Fox Sports Radio; the flagship station for the New England Patriots, Boston Bruins, Boston Celtics, and New England Revolution radio networks; and the radio home of Fred Toettcher, Rich Shertenlieb, Scott Zolak, Mike Felger, Tony Massarotti, and Adam Jones. The WBZ-FM studios are located in Waltham, while the station transmitter resides in the Boston suburb of Newton. In addition to a standard analog transmission, WBZ-FM broadcasts over two HD Radio channels, and is available online.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul Benzaquin</span>

Paul Benzaquin was a 20th-century American broadcaster in the city of Boston, a pioneer of talk radio. He was inducted into the Massachusetts Broadcasters Hall of Fame in 2007.

References

  1. 1 2 Stoda, Greg, "Boston’s Eddie Andelman, godfather of sports talk, still feisty at 77", The Palm Beach Post, July 7, 2014
  2. ↑ Dupont, Kevin Paul, "Eddie Andelman to be honored at ‘Tradition’", The Boston Globe, September 7, 2014
  3. ↑ McLean, Bob, "Andelman Leaves as Channel 7 Sports Critic", Boston Globe, 31 January 1976, p. 4
  4. ↑ "See No Evil, Hear No Evil... HA!" Sports Illustrated, September 4, 1972. https://www.si.com/vault/1972/09/04/613622/see-no-evil-hear-no-evilha.
  5. ↑ Shaughnessy, Dan, Pieces of His Mind", The Boston Globe, December 18, 2010
  6. ↑ EDDIE & JUDY'S TOP 10 REASONS TO RETURN TO ARUBA | Official Travel News from Aruba Archived April 22, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
  7. ↑ Greater Media, Inc. - 17th ANNUAL EDDIE ANDELMAN’S HOT DOG SAFARI SET FOR JUNE 4, 2006 Archived September 2, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
  8. ↑ Molori, John, "Andelman quits WEEI", The Eagle-Tribune , Thursday, December 13, 2001. (archived 2005)
  9. ↑ Molori, John, "Sheppard tops list to replace Andelman", The Eagle-Tribune, Friday, December 14, 2001 (archived 2005)
  10. ↑ "The Remy Report". Archived from the original on 2006-08-18. Retrieved 2006-07-01.
  11. 1 2 Eddie Andelman and the Sports Huddle
  12. ↑ Company pulls plug on WWZN's local shows - The Boston Globe
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.