43
A familiar voice is set to come back to radio Return of Mr. Sports
By Bob Jackson
YOUNGSTOWN
When John Batcho stepped back into a radio studio for the first time in three years, it felt like he’d never left.
“I went in there and it felt like home,” said Batcho, who appeared on local radio for 28 years under the name Mr. Sports. “I looked around and I thought, ‘Yeah, I remember this.’ It’s really good to be back.”
Batcho, 54, will host a program called “Closet Classic Theater with Mr. Sports” on the Summit radio network, heard locally on WKTL 90.7-FM, and on WAPS 91.3-FM in the Akron-Canton area. The show will debut from 6 to 7 p.m. Sunday, and be heard weekly on Sundays at the same time.
The programs will be pre-recorded and broadcast in both the Youngstown and Akron markets. Listeners will be able to email him requests, which he’ll play on the following week’s broadcast. Batcho will record the programs at the WKTL radio studio in Struthers.
Batcho created “Closet Classic Theater” while working at Y-103-FM in Youngstown, where he was a popular on-air personality for about 24 years. His career came to an end April 24, 2014, when he was let go by the station.
Hooked on radio and music, he tried hard to land a gig at other area stations, with no luck. Eventually, he took a job as a sales consultant at Greenwood Chevrolet in Austintown. Still, the siren song of the airwaves was in his ear, and he kept up his pursuit of a return to radio.
When he approached Summit late last year and pitched his program idea, officials there liked what they heard and talks were soon underway to make it happen.
At Summit, he’ll carry on the “Closet Classic Theater” format of featuring “lost” classic songs that are rarely heard on most radio stations any longer.
“I want the ‘wow’ effect,” said Batcho. “I’ll be playing songs that people haven’t heard in years because they’re not on the playlists of corporate radio stations.”
He’ll also spotlight one-hit wonders as well as music by regional and local bands.
“And I’ll be giving background about all the songs I play,” said Batcho. “Hopefully, I’ll even have some of the artists on the show with me.”
Brad Savage, program director at Summit, said the station considers itself “the home for music diversity.” The wide-open format of “Closet Classic Theater” is something radio has lacked for years,” he said.
Summit is listener-supported public radio, and not corporately owned. It does not air commercials and has total freedom over its programming.
“Our format is a little bit left-of-center, a little less predicable than corporate radio,” said Savage. “I think there is a place for that type of creative freedom, for a music lover to get some great music out there to the listeners.”
“We knew that he has a well-regarded name and reputation as being a music fan and a great radio host,” Savage said of Batcho. “He brings a kind of brand name and a credibility to the station, which is great. We’re going to give him the freedom to do what he does best.”
Savage called Batcho “one of the most famous radio voices in recent history” from the Youngstown area.
Batcho said the response from his fans and followers on Facebook has been overwhelmingly positive. “There’s going to be a hell of a following there when we get on the air,” he said. “We’re going to have a lot of fun. I’m excited about it.”