Porky Chedwick
| Porky Chedwick | |
|---|---|
| Born |
George Jacob Chedwick February 4, 1918 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Died | March 2, 2014 (aged 96) Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Other names | Craig Chedwick |
| Spouse(s) | Jeanie Chedwick; 4 children |
George Jacob "Porky" Chedwick (February 4, 1918 – March 2, 2014) was an American radio announcer known to generations in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania as "The Daddio of the Raddio", "The Platter Pushin' Papa", "The Bossman", "Pork the Tork", and a host of other colorful nicknames. His career lasted from 1948 to shortly before his death in 2014.
George Jacob Chedwick (he later informally changed his first name to "Craig") was born on February 4, 1918 in Homestead, Pennsylvania, one of ten children of a steelworker father. George's mother died when he was still a child. His was a close-knit, culturally and racially diverse neighborhood, which he often compared to "a secluded island", where things such as one's skin color simply didn't matter. Before getting into radio, he worked odd jobs around Homestead-Munhall, including delivering newspapers as a young boy, later working as a sports "stringer" reporter for the newspaper, sorting mail for the local post office, and calling play-by-play sporting events at his alma mater, Munhall High School.
He began his career at WHOD in Homestead (which took the call letters WAMO — an acronym for the Allegheny, Monongehela and Ohio rivers — in 1956), when the low-power AM signed on, August 1, 1948. When he responded to an ad in a local paper, advertising for on-air talent at the new radio station, his popularity as a play-by-play announcer won him a 10-minute Saturday sports and music show. The music portion was gradually expanded, in response to the public's reaction. WHOD, known as "The Station of Nations," was created to serve the diverse European and eastern bloc immigrant population that worked the Pittsburgh area mills. Most of his young listeners, who turned an ear toward Chedwick's music and off-the-cuff rhymes and patter, had no idea that he was Caucasian. Years later, when the fact became apparent, the outcry from some parents, religious and civic leaders made him a local anti-hero. and he was banned from appearing in some neighborhoods. The suggestion that he was trying to corrupt the (white) youth of America was put to rest when he was commended by Senator Estes Kefauver for his work organizing youth baseball teams to combat juvenile delinquency. He even had a few youths remanded to his custody from juvenile court.
In spite of WHOD's low wattage (1,000 watts compared to 50,000 watts on KDKA.), Chedwick became Pittsburgh's "Pied Piper of Platter". By the early 1950s, black music record labels were hearing about the noise Chedwick was making in Pittsburgh with old R&B stock, so they began inundating him with new material. He introduced the new material to his "movers and groovers," never accepting payola though payola was the norm at the time. Still, oldies would dominate his playlist. Shortly after being honored by WAMO for his years of service in 1984, he was let go by the station. He would work at various other stations in the Pittsburgh market until executives from Sheridan Broadcasting (WAMO's parent company) asked him to come back in 1992.
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