KFRC

KFRC is an AM and FM broadcast radio station in San Francisco, California in the United States. For over 80 years, the station has served the community. It broadcasts on 610 kHz AM and since 1991, on 99.7 MHz FM. The famous callsign letters were sequentially issued, as was common when KFRC signed on the air in 1924. They did not stand for "Frisco", nor did they stand for "Known For Radio Clearness," though this was the slogan used when the station first signed on with 50 watts of power. Broadcasts had been heard over a much larger area than had been anticipated.

Early history

The beginning of KFRC was largely due to the efforts of its first manager, Harrison Holliway. As a child, he was a ham radio buff, and by 1920, he was operating his own amateur station, 6BN. For a time, Harrison was on the air every day with 6BN, broadcasting record programs "for the sheer pleasure of it". He also worked as a part-time newspaper reporter, covering high school sporting news for the San Francisco Call.

Related Topics:
Harrison Holliway - Ham radio - 1920 - San Francisco Call

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Beginning in 1920, Holliway attended Stanford University. During the summer of 1924, Holliway was working at a radio shop called the Radio Art Corporation in San Francisco. A Western Electric salesman called on the owners, Jim Threlkeld and Thomas Catton, and sold them on the idea of starting a new radio station (and of course, buying a Western Electric transmitter). And so, KFRC was born, and Holliway became the manager.

Related Topics:
Stanford University - Western Electric - Jim Threlkeld - Thomas Catton

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KFRC went on the air on September 24, 1924 with speeches by local dignitaries, followed by a program with concert, symphony and dance orchestras. Although the signal was only 50 watts, reception proved exceptionally good. It was heard on the U.S. Atlantic Coast, and across the Pacific Ocean as far away as New Zealand.

Related Topics:
September 24 - Watt - Atlantic Coast - Pacific Ocean - New Zealand

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In the following years, Holliway interviewed such personalities as baseball great Rogers Hornsby, French-Canadian heavyweight boxer Jack Renault, and actors William S. Hart, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., and John Barrymore. Harry "Mac" McClintock who hosted a daily children's program, later wrote the hit song "Big Rock Candy Mountain".

Related Topics:
Rogers Hornsby - French-Canadian - Boxer - Jack Renault - Actor - William S. Hart - Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. - John Barrymore - Harry "Mac" McClintock - Big Rock Candy Mountain

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