In order to promote the football tri-cast that Joe Fowler had sold to sponsors, he would show up at high school pep-rallies all across San Antonio to get the kids fired up about their football team being broadcast live on the radio. Additionally he promised to talk about how each high school got its name and how their mascot came to be during the broadcasts. Joe also told the high school kids that if any of them wanted to learn about radio they could volunteer to help with the broadcast. TSG (The Sports Group) is what Joe called the little gang who pulled off this broadcasting feat.

The first night over 25 high school kids showed up at the radio station at Joe's invitation. And...Joe let all of them come into the KONO/KITY building.

Francine Mannes, the broadcast engineer on duty, quickly let Joe know that she didn't think it was a good thing to let that many teenagers into the building with no supervision. She was right. Thank God the kids didn't get into anything or break anything. And furthermore...Really thank God Jack Roth never found out about it.

Probably the big reason for Jack Roth not finding out about all the kids was they immediately learned what they were volunteering for was going to require some real work. So very quickly the TSG dwindled to just two.

One of the two left was a skinny and mostly quiet guy. Sometimes he'd help at one of the stadiums getting phone lines, microphones and other equipment set up for broadcast. Other times he would work with me learning how to gather information over the phone, write it for radio, record voice and put it on a tape cartridge so it was ready to go on the air.

Sometimes the kid would work with me at KMFM organizing commercial spots and story tape cartridges into the proper order for play during the broadcast. Because he showed up every week ready to work and do what was necessary to get the program on the air he earned the right to actually sit in the chair and run the audio board during an actual broadcast while I stood behind him.

The skinny and mostly quiet guy truly had a heart for learning and understanding the various aspects of getting a broadcast on air. And...He was willing to work.

Over time the young man went on to become an important part of San Antonio Radio History. His name...Roger Allen.

I am very glad that I got to be a VERY small part of Roger's start in radio.

Bruce Baker

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