Christopher Cane, Chris Edwards, Last Contest KYA San Francisco January 25, 1973 (0:56:25)

… . . . Please hang up and try again . . . …

Christopher Cane is assisted by Chris Edwards in selecting the first winner in KYA’s Last Contest on January 25, 1973.

The Last Contest was originally developed by Jack McCoy for KCBQ in San Diego a couple of years earlier. By 1973, McCoy was syndicating the contest to stations all over the country. In San Francisco, Program Director Julian Breen (former WABC Assistant PD) purchased the rights to the contest for KYA.

It’s possible that the promos for this contest sound better than the actual “moment of winning”. The big moment begins about 37 minutes into the exhibit and continues for 15 minutes. We listen to all the rules, then we are subjected to the first 29 callers (some of whom give their home addresses!) being told to “hang up and call again” and when we finally get to the specified Caller #30, incurable feedback threatens to trash the entire event.

Welcome to the new ReelRadio!

This site is now operated by the North Carolina Broadcast History Museum. 

We want to thank the board of ReelRadio, Inc. for their stewardship since the passing of the founder Richard Irwin in 2018.  It has not been easy and they have maintained the exhibits for future generations to enjoy.

I met Richard Irwin, aka Uncle Ricky, when we were freshmen at East Carolina University.  We both had worked at local stations in our hometowns.  No one was more passionate about radio, especially Top 40 radio, than my friend Richard. 

Our goals with this site are to preserve the exhibits and make them available free of charge for people to enjoy.  Over time, we hope to add some airchecks to the site.  This will not happen immediately.  Time and resources will determine the future of new exhibits. 

Many thanks to the web folks at the Beasley Media Group for countless hours of work.  Again thanks to the board members of ReelRadio, Inc. for their faith in us. 

Richard Irwin’s hope was that his site would live on long after his passing. He said, “I hope REELRADIO will survive as my contribution to the ‘radio business’. The business is allowed to forget me, but the business should never forget the great era of radio that we celebrate here”.

We remember Richard and we thank him. If you enjoy this new site, we would appreciate a contribution. We hope you enjoy the new ReelRadio!

Board of NCBHP
North Carolina Broadcast History Project