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Eddie Andelman
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Eddie Andelman is a considered a legend in the Boston sports talk radio market. He has worked over 35 years in sports talk radio and appeared on over 100 sports stations all over the country. He is sometimes called "The God Father of Sports Talk". [1] In the Boston area he has appeared on WNAC Channel 7 (Now WHDH) and WCVB Channel 5, and hosted talk radio shows on WUNR, WBZ, WHDH, WEEI, WWZN and currently hosts a Sunday evening talk show called Sports Huddle on WTKK.
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Aldelman is involved with many charitable organizations, but is best known in the New England area for hosting Eddie Andelman's Hot Dog Safari. The event which he has hosted for the past 18 years raises money for the Joey Fund / Cystic Fibrosis (CF) Foundation. [2] The event started in 1990 when during his program Aldelman declared the hot dog the ultimate sports food and he and his listeners proceeded to debate on who made the best ones. After some time, Aldelman decided to resolve the issue by organizing a bus trip for 200 people to visit certain locations to sample various hot dogs. As Eddie told his listeners: "We are on a Hot Dog Safari". The money from ticket sales went to benefit the Joey Fund. Since then the event has grown, and now includes local celebrities, members of the media and professional athletes and over the years has raised over a million dollars for the Joey Fund / Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.
He is the creator of the New York/Boston Unity Fund, which raised over $135,000 after the terrorist attack on September 11, 2001 and was named Honorary Fire Chief upon his visit to Ground Zero.
He raised $50,000 to enable paralyzed jockey Rudy Biaz to build ramps in his house.
Delivered baseball equipment to kids in the Dominican Republic.
- He has been named Jimmy Fund Man of the Year
- Joey Fund-Cystic Fibrosis man of the Year
- Big Brother Man of the Year.
Andelman worked at WEEI for ten years until abrupt departure in December 2001. Reports say that he was unhappy with the direction the station had taken towards more confrontational shows like ‘The Dennis and Callahan Show’ and ‘The Big Show’. Reports say he was also unhappy when the station paired him up with co-host Dale Arnold to form the ‘A-Team’. Though Arnold denies any personal problems existed, reports say that the two did not get along on or off the air. [3] [4] WEEI replaced Andelman with former television sportscaster Bob Neumeier.
Regarding the current state of sports radio, including WEEI, Andelman states,
- “I’ve been planning this show at WTKK for almost two years. Radio should be a theater of the mind, not screaming and stupidity.
- “WEEI has too many people who are not trained and not educated. They pay players and coaches to be on their shows. Then, they have to watch what questions they ask. I won’t pay guests. Sports radio has become public relations. Everyone kisses ass.” [5]
He pledged to start a movement called Fans Against Idiot Radio (FAIR) as an antidote to the "venomous" WEEI. [6]
In early 2002, Andelman joined WWZN in Boston, a direct competitor to WEEI.[7] The station hired Andelman as part of its strategy to challenge WEEI as Boston’s sports talk leader. Andelman joined former Red Sox announcer Sean McDonough and Ryen Russillo as on air talent. The station additionally paid for the rights to broadcast Boston Celtics basketball games for five years. In the end, the station couldn’t compete with WEEI and sold its Celtics rights to WRKO and ended all local broadcasts in October 2005 in favor of a nationally syndicated lineup.[8]
On August 11, 2004 Andelman angered many listeners during a discussion of the Kobe Bryant rape accusations. Commenting on Bryant’s accuser, Andelman suggested she was a gold digger out to get Bryant’s money, and that she would be able to make money by posing for Playboy magazine or getting into the pornography industry. He also said “that women ruin athletes by sapping all of their manly strength out of them”. When a female caller called to complain about his comments a heated exchange took place in which he stated: “that when a woman goes into a hotel room and kisses a man, she cannot cry rape even if she says no”. After the woman hung up, he told listeners that the caller ‘was obviously someone who had been raped in the past and never got over it.’ [9] Andelman submitted written apology and made an on-air apology one week later.[10]
- Andelman is a graduate of Boston University, and received his MBA from Northeastern University.
- His son David is the creator of The Phantom Gourmet television show.
- On July 16, 2003, Andelman served as jury foreman in ESPN’s mock trial of Pete Rose. [11]
- Andelman and his wife Judith were made honorary Goodwill Ambassadors by the Aruba Tourism Authority in honor of them having visited the island 53 times over the 35 years.[12]