Genre | Sports talk (2009 – 2023) Comedy, Talk, Rock (2006 – 2009) |
---|---|
Running time | ~4 hours |
Country of origin | United States |
Home station | 98.5 WBZ-FM (August 13, 2009 – December 19, 2023) 104.1 WBCN (June 5, 2006 – August 12, 2009) |
Starring | Fred Toettcher Rich Shertenlieb Jon Wallach |
Original release | June 5, 2006 – December 19, 2023 |
Opening theme | "Honey Bucket" by Melvins |
Toucher and Rich was a radio show hosted by Fred Toettcher and Rich Shertenlieb, airing from 6 to 10 AM on WBZ-FM, in Boston, Massachusetts. [1] Following an audition, Toettcher and Shertenlieb debuted on alternative rock station WBCN on June 5, 2006. Beginning August 13, 2009, the show transitioned to sports talk station WBZ-FM.
From August 17, 2015, until July 13, 2018, the show was simulcast on NBC Sports Boston. The show was later streamed live on Twitch and YouTube.
On September 24, 2016, Toucher & Rich received the Marconi Award, the highest award in radio for Major Market Personality of the Year.
Until mid-2007 the show's opening theme was "Fuck All Y'all" by Saliva. Thereafter, the opening theme was "Honey Bucket" by Melvins.
Toucher and Rich entered regional syndication on October 25, 2021. [2] The program's inaugural affiliates consisted of four Townsquare Media stations: the trimulcast of WCYY in Portland, Maine, WPKQ in North Conway, New Hampshire, and WJZN in Augusta, Maine; and WEZQ in Bangor, Maine. [3] In October 2023, the show reverted to broadcasting exclusively on WBZ-FM and Twitch. [4]
Following longstanding tensions between Shertenlieb and Toettcher, as well as Beasley Broadcast Group corporate management, Shertenlieb exited the show on November 10, 2023. On December 19, Beasley Broadcast Group announced that Rob "Hardy" Poole would join Toettcher for a new Toucher & Hardy morning show, debuting January 4, 2024. [5] Poole was best known as the third mic on the midday show on The Sports Hub, having previously worked with Toettcher at WBCN as the production director and afternoon/evening host.
Toettcher and Shertenlieb met at WNNX in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1999. Shertenlieb worked on the station's morning show alongside Leslie Fram, Steve Barnes, Jimmy Baron, and Crash Clark. Toettcher, meanwhile, started at the station as a receptionist before hosting evenings. Shertenlieb later exited WNNX, joining the Kidd Kraddick Morning Show at KHKS in Dallas-Fort Worth as a producer. In 2003, Toettcher replaced Barnes in mornings at WNNX, joining Fram, Baron, and Clark for "The Don Miller Morning Show," later renamed "Toucher, Jimmy, and Leslie."
In December 2005, Shertenlieb exited KHKS, expressing a desire to start his own show. In March 2006, following Cumulus Media's acquisition of Susquehanna Radio Corporation, Toettcher requested to be released from his contract at WNNX with intentions to join Shertenlieb's venture. Together they auditioned at KZON Free FM in Phoenix, Arizona, hosting a week of overnight shows. They also auditioned at WBCN in Boston, where they were eventually hired in April of that year. While plans initially called for them to serve as local replacements for the recently canceled David Lee Roth show, Toettcher and Shertenlieb were instead assigned to afternoon drive, as the New York–based duo of Opie & Anthony would instead helm mornings.
Upon signing with WBCN, the duo recruited Crash Clark, who had been released from WNNX following an incident at a station event where two listeners engaged in a public sexual act at Clark's encouragement. Also brought on was Adolfo Gonzalez, a 20-year-old fan of Kraddick's whom Shertenlieb befriended at KHKS, whose personal life and quirky personality fascinated Shertenlieb. The group formally debuted on WBCN on June 5, 2006.
Following the launch of WBZ-FM on August 13, 2009, the show transferred from WBCN following the latter's format change. At this point, the show was airing in morning drive, having transitioned from afternoons in December 2008. The move from WBCN to WBZ-FM was widely questioned within the broadcast industry; many insiders wondered if Toettcher and Shertenlieb, otherwise inexperienced in sports talk radio, were transplanted from an alternative rock station merely to finish out their contracts, which had approximately one year left following their move.
While increasing their focus on local and national sports and adjusting their target demographic from males 18-34 to males 25-54, the show's content was largely unchanged from its run on WBCN. Several segments from the WBCN-era, such as "Drunken Recaps," were transferred over, while new bits were created with involvement from local athletes and sportscasters. For the show's launch on WBZ-FM, Jon Wallach was added to the cast as a contributor and to provide "Sports Hub headlines" every twenty (later thirty) minutes; Wallach previously served a similar role on the midday program at competitor WEEI-FM. Also around this time, Gonzalez was moved to a largely off-air role, though he was still featured for regular on-air segments and was utilized for "man on the street" bits.
On April 2, 2010, Crash Clark exited the show after his contract was not renewed by station management. He has since made numerous guest appearances, either via telephone or during on-location events. On May 23, 2016, Adolfo Gonzalez announced his exit from the program, expressing a desire to return home to Dallas, Texas, and attend college. With Gonzalez's exit, former intern Nick Gemelli was recruited to work alongside producers Dan O'Brien and Mike Lockhart, screening listener phone calls, collecting street audio, and later operating the show's Twitch/YouTube feed.
On October 25, 2023, Beasley Broadcast Group announced that Toettcher signed a new contract "to continue to serve at the helm of 98.5 The Sports Hub in Boston’s Award-winning morning show for years to come." [6] On November 10, Shertenlieb's departure from the show was announced after he refused to sign a multi-year contract extension "on terms better than his existing contract." [7]
Toettcher discussed Shertenlieb's departure during the opening segment of the November 10 broadcast. Toettcher said that he learned of the change from the station's management while he was driving home after the previous day's show. He also discussed problems that had developed between him Shertenlieb. Toettcher then described a prolonged period of estrangement between the two. He also said that Shertenlieb didn't tell him of his planned departure, which came as a surprise. [8]
Despite this, Toettcher revealed that he and Shertenlieb had exchanged cordial, parting text messages. Out of respect for Shertenlieb, Toettcher announced that the show would retire his production elements and segments, such as "What Happened Last Night" and "Fart Court." While he also stated the name of the show would remain until January 2024, there was no direct reference to "The Toucher and Rich Show" by on-air hosts or in production pieces, only referring to it as "the morning show."
On May 20, 2024, Shertenlieb began hosting an eponymous morning show on iHeartMedia's WZLX in Boston, replacing longtime hosts Pete McKenzie, Heather Ford, and the late Kevin Karlson. Due to low ratings and conflicts with station management over the direction of the program, Shertenlieb's show was canceled after less than six months. [9] Following his program's debut and subsequent cancellation, comments made on-air by Toettcher suggest his and Shertenlieb's relationship has completely deteriorated.
WBZ is a commercial AM radio station, licensed to Boston, Massachusetts, and owned and operated by iHeartMedia, Inc. Its studios and offices are located on Cabot Road in the Boston suburb of Medford.
WWWQ is a commercial radio station licensed to Atlanta, Georgia, United States, carrying a top 40 (CHR) format known as "Q99.7". Owned by Cumulus Media, WWWQ serves the Atlanta metropolitan area as the regional affiliate for The Daly Download with Carson Daly and is the flagship station of The Bert Show and Elliott & Nina. WWWQ's studios are located in the Atlanta suburb of Sandy Springs, while the station transmitter resides in Atlanta's Druid Hills neighborhood. In addition to a standard analog transmission, WWWQ broadcasts over three HD Radio channels with the second and third subchannels simulcast over low-power FM translators and is available online.
WBZ-TV is a television station in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, serving as the market's CBS outlet. It is owned and operated by the network's CBS News and Stations division alongside independent WSBK-TV. Both stations share studios on Soldiers Field Road in the Allston–Brighton section of Boston. WBZ-TV's transmitter is located on Cedar Street in Needham, Massachusetts, on a tower site that was formerly owned by CBS and is now owned by American Tower Corporation.
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 Infinity Sports Network, 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.
WKVB (107.3 FM) is a non-commercial radio station licensed to serve Westborough, Massachusetts, United States, carrying a contemporary Christian format known as "K-Love". Owned by the Educational Media Foundation (EMF), WKVB does not broadcast any local programming but functions as the network affiliate for K-Love in Greater Boston and Worcester. With its transmitter located in Hudson, 20 miles west of Boston, its signal is supplemented by WNKC in Gloucester, which serves the North Shore and Merrimack Valley, and WLVO from Providence, Rhode Island, which covers Southeastern Massachusetts. The station also has boosters in Boston, Lexington, and Waltham. In addition to a standard analog transmission, WKVB broadcasts in HD Radio and is available online.
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.
WBOS is a commercial FM radio station licensed to Brookline, Massachusetts, and serving Greater Boston. WBOS is owned by Beasley Broadcast Group, with studios and offices in Waltham. WBOS airs a financial news radio format from Bloomberg Radio.
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 Infinity Sports Network, 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.
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 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.
WBCN was the call sign assigned from 2009 until 2021, and the last call sign used on the air, for radio station WJBX in Charlotte, North Carolina, United States. The station, while silent, was assigned the call letters WJBX by the Federal Communications Commission on February 5, 2021. The license was deleted on August 24, 2022, before any broadcasts under the WJBX call letters.
Charles Laquidara is an American radio disc jockey whose show, The Big Mattress, was broadcast in the Boston, Massachusetts, area for nearly 30 years (1969–1996) on WBCN. He then spent four years doing The Charles Laquidara Radio Hour on WZLX. He hosted Charles Laquidara radio, an internet radio station from his home on Maui for several years and left Hawai'i in February 2020 to be closer to his family, including his grandchildren.
Pete Sheppard is an Italian-American radio host, formerly heard on WEEI-FM 93.7 FM in Boston. Sheppard, a native of Narragansett, Rhode Island, is a graduate of Bishop Hendricken High School in Rhode Island and the Connecticut School of Broadcasting.
NBC Sports Boston is an American regional sports network owned by the NBC Sports Group unit of NBCUniversal, and operates as an affiliate of NBC Sports Regional Networks. The channel broadcasts regional coverage of professional sports events throughout New England with a major focus on Boston area teams, as well as several original analysis, magazine and entertainment programs. It is available on cable providers throughout Massachusetts, eastern and central Connecticut, Vermont, Maine, New Hampshire and Rhode Island; it is also available nationwide on satellite via DirecTV.
WEZQ is a commercial FM radio station broadcasting a sports format. Licensed to Bangor, Maine, United States, the station signal extends to Bar Harbor and Belfast on the coast, to Howland to the north. The station is currently owned by Townsquare Media and features programming from ESPN Radio.
Dan Roche is a sports anchor and reporter for WBZ-TV and WSBK-TV in Boston for over 20 years.
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, Scott Zolak, Mike Felger, Tony Massarotti, and Bob Socci. 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.
Fred Toettcher, also known as Fred Toucher, is an American radio personality with a sports radio talk show on WBZ-FM in Boston. Toettcher is the co-host of Toucher and Hardy with Rob "Hardy" Poole. He previously co-hosted The Toucher and Rich Show with Rich Shertenlieb from 2006 to 2023, winning a Marconi Award as Major Market Personality of the Year in 2016. Their 17-year partnership ended in November 2023 when Shertenlieb left the program.
Felger & Massarotti is a Marconi Award-winning afternoon radio show hosted by Michael Felger and Tony Massarotti, airing from 2 to 6 pm in Boston, Massachusetts. The show first aired on August 13, 2009 with the launch of WBZ-FM's sports talk radio station, The Sports Hub on 98.5 FM. The show is known for “calling it like they see it”, which leads to the show’s perceived negative demeanor towards local sports teams, hot takes, and willingness to go after local teams and players.