Bob Steele on the Radio

For more than sixty years, Bob Steele was the radio voice of Southern New England, entertaining listeners of WTIC AM with his wit and humor and an inimitable style that kept listeners faithfully tuning in to his morning show. Capturing the nation’s highest market share, the National Radio Hall of Fame inductee maintained an unparalleled popularity through the latter half of the twentieth century.
This first ever biography of Bob Steele details both the home life and the award-winning broadcasting career of this Connecticut media legend, from his humble Midwestern roots to the pinnacle of radio fame. Steele and his “The Word for the Day” feature remain forever embedded in the memories of his many listeners.

Paul Hensler has been a member of the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) for over thirty years. The author of five books, he has contributed to numerous SABR publications as well as articles and book reviews for NINE: A Journal of Baseball History and Culture. He has presented at the SABR national convention, the NINE Spring Training Conference, and many times at the Cooperstown Symposium on Baseball and American Culture. He lives in Beacon Falls, Connecticut.

Paul Hensler
Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 196
Bibliographic Info: 15 photos, appendix, notes, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2019
pISBN: 978-1-4766-7932-7
eISBN: 978-1-4766-3749-5
Imprint: McFarland

Acknowledgments vii
Preface 1
1. The Birth of a Legend 3
2. Go West, Young Man 13
3. Go East, Young Man … and Meet Astrid 19
4. The Sportsman Goes on The Morning Watch 32
5. “I’m a big slob from Missouri too … just like them” 48
6. Moving into the Age of Modernization 64
7. “I’m thankful for everything I have in this world” 83
8. Lasting Recognition 104
9. “The sleepless but amusing life of a radio announcer” 121
10. The Comedian in the Studio 146
Appendix: Remembering Dad 159
Chapter Notes 165
Bibliography 177
Index 179