One Photo: One Story 1230 WBVP part 2

As I mentioned in an early post, 1230 WBVP will celebrate 70 years on the air this Friday May 25, 2018. WBVP is located on 7th Ave in downtown Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania, home of Joe Namath.

Joe was one of my first sports heroes growing up. Dad had season tickets for the New York Jets at Shea Stadium during the 1968 Super Bowl season. 1230 WBVP carried the New York Jet broadcasts during

Namath’s entire career in New York.

If I was going to be a professional broadcaster, I had to control my excitement when Chris Shovlin asked me to prepare for an interview with Namath on May 21 and May 22, 1990.

Joe Namath never forgot where he came from. On those days in 1990, he gathered his friends from the NFL to raise money for The United Way/Special Olympics at the Seven Oaks Country Club in Hopewell, Pa.

The seven year old me was freaking out when Chris Shovlin and I sat with Joe for an interview. He talked about Super Bowl III, Alabama, Coach Paul Bear Bryant, and his life in Beaver Falls. During his conversation with us, he touched on his philosophy on winning. He looked me straight in the eye and said, “Always surround yourself with the best people”. It was as if he was giving me a personal challenge, I still hear his voice when I think of that moment.

Thank You, Chris Shovlin, Joe Namath, and 1230 WBVP for that moment. 1230 WBVP is still the voice in Beaver County, Pennsylvania. I am proud to have spent some time there learning and working with some of the very best. Happy Anniversary ,1230 WBVP.