WCFL

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WCFL (1000 kHz Chicago, Illinois) was a 50,000-watt AM radio station located in Chicago. The station was originally owned by the Chicago Federation of Labor giving the station its callsign WCFL, as well as its slogan "The Voice of Labor".

WCFL first took to the air in test broadcasts on June 19, 1926. In 1927, WCFL broadcast the Gene Tunney-Jack Dempsey championship boxing match at Soldier Field, challenging the National Broadcasting Company's exclusive claim to the event. This led to an arrangement whereby WCFL became one of three affiliates in Chicago of the Blue Network of NBC; WCFL broadcast non-sponsored, or "sustaining", NBC programs not carried by WENR or WLS, as well as selected major sporting events and any broadcast speeches by union leaders aired by the network. When the Federal Communications Commission forced NBC to sell the Blue Network, WCFL's affiliation continued with the network through its new identity as the American Broadcasting Company, ending with the merger of WENR and WLS in 1959. WCFL was also to become an affiliate of the Amalgamated Broadcasting System in 1933, but that network folded after only a month of operations, prior to its planned westward expansion from New York.

WCFL was also involved in early experimental television broadcasts, and operated a shortwave repeater station, W9XAA, in the 1930s.

The original transmitter for WCFL was located at Chicago's Navy Pier, using facilities that had been built by the U.S. Navy for use during World War I. WCFL's final transmitter site was located in Downers Grove, west of Chicago and at night, the signal was most intense to the east toward the city, according to FCC rules. The nighttime signal took it east to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania due to the directional antenna pattern, reducing power toward stations on AM 1000 in Seattle and Oklahoma City.

During the early 1960s, WLS was the only real top 40 station in the nation's second-largest market at the time, Chicago. But in fall 1965, WCFL switched to top 40, and WLS was no longer alone in the format. Ultimately Chicagoland radio listeners benefited, because the excellent sound WCFL had during its first years in pop music, forced WLS to improve and become a better radio station, too.

Some famous announcers on WCFL included Larry Lujack, Art Roberts, Ron Britain, Clark Weber, Ron Riley, Barney Pip, Fred Winston, Jim Bohannon, Howard Miller, Wolfman Jack, Joel Sebastian, Dick Saint & Doug Dahlgren, Bob Dearborn and Dick Biondi. The comical Chicken Man vignette radio shows were born at WCFL during its early years as a top 40 station.

WCFL's Top 40 era came to an end in 1976 when the station changed to a Beautiful Music format, which proved unsuccessful. After deciding WCFL's profit margin was too small to maintain the station, the Chicago Federation of Labor sold WCFL in 1979 to the Mutual Broadcasting System, at the time a subsidiary of the Amway Corporation. WCFL was in turn sold in 1983 by Mutual to Statewide Broadcasting, which unsuccessfully used the station to broadcast religious programming. At the end of 1986, Statewide merged with Heftel Broadcasting, owners of FM radio station WLUP, or The Loop, named after a section of downtown Chicago. In 1987, the call sign of the station was changed to WLUP, and its FM sister became WLUP-FM. In 1993, its call sign was once again changed, to WMVP, or "Most Valuable Player," to reflect the station's new emphasis on sports programming. In 1999, the station was sold to the American Broadcasting Company, which continues to operate it today from studios at the intersection of State and Lake in the heart of Chicago.

[edit] Tributes to WCFL

WCFL is now the callsign of FM 104.7 at Morris, Illinois. In the early 1990s, this station had high-energy oldies format reminiscent of the programming of WCFL (AM) did during its "Super CFL" Top 40 days in the early 70's The FM station, however, had a distinctly weaker signal that could not penetrate the entire Chicago metropolitan area. The oldies format lasted from April 1990 to late 1993, when the station went into a receivership, and was bought by the Illinois Bible Institute, which has made it a relay for Christian radio station WBGL.

Beginning in 2004, a small low-powered FM station, KCFL-LP 104.5 FM in Fall City, Washington, operated as a tribute to the 60s/70s-era WCFL, using the old "SuperCFL" slogan and vintage WCFL jingles. In 2006 it switched to a tribute to San Francisco's old KYA Radio.