WXGI

WXGI

City of license	Richmond, Virginia
Broadcast area	Richmond, Virginia Petersburg, Virginia
Branding	"ESPN 950"
Slogan	"Richmond's Home of the Redskins"
Frequency	950 kHz
First air date	1947
Format	Sports Radio
Power	3,900 Watts daytime 45 Watts nighttime
Class	D
Facility ID	74207
Transmitter coordinates	37°30′52.0″N 77°30′28.0″W
Callsign meaning	W EX GI former owners were retired Army
Affiliations	ESPN Radio Westwood One
Owner	Red Zebra Broadcasting (Red Zebra Broadcasting Licensee (Richmond), LLC)
Webcast	WXGI Webstream
Website	WXGI Online

WXGI is a Sports Radio formatted broadcast radio station licensed to Richmond, Virginia, serving the Richmond/Petersburg area. WXGI is owned and operated by Red Zebra Broadcasting.

History

This station was signed on in the late 1940s by former World War II servicemen, which resulted in the call letters WXGI, as the station was founded by "ex-GIs" .

The Country Years

Throughout the 1950s, '60s, '70s and early '80s, the station was a popular country music station. George "Pops" Popkins and Johnny Gee were some of the better known D.J.s on WXGI. The station also carried live NASCAR races. At least once in the 1960s, the race ran late past sunset, the time daytime stations like WXGI were required to sign off. To remain loyal to its local race fans it stayed on the air past sunset forgoing local ads, its call letters or frequency so as to not be identified. It signed off as the checkered flag dropped.

The death of Johnny Gee

In 1979 the station was dealt a blow when one of its most popular DJs, Johnny Gee (real name John Gallaher) , was kidnapped and murdered by the infamous Briley Brothers, outside of a nightclub in which his band was playing when he caught them attempting to break into his car. His body was later found washed up on the shore of the James River. The brothers were later executed for this and other murders.

Changes in the 80s

The station went through hard times in the eighties due to increased FM competition from two powerful FM country stations, WTVR-FM and WKHK. At first they tried going head to head with the FMs as "I-95". In the mid eighties they adopted an adult contemporary format as "Bright 95" but due to an outcry by longtime country music fans returned to the country format by 1989, this time featuring more classic country that the FMs stations had abandoned and calling themselves "The Legend". Some of the DJ who were on WXGI during this period were "Big" John Trimble, David Holt, Gretchen Hart, Bill James, Gary Micheals, and Eric Slater.

The Transition to Sports

The station continued with the classic country format through the nineties and into the early 2000s, but then added a sports talk morning show with former WRNL morning host "Big" Al Coleman. Finally in 2004, the station abandoned music altogether for an all sports format, adding programming from ESPN Radio.

In 2006, the station was purchased by Red Zebra Broadcasting, which is owned by Washington Redskins owner Daniel Snyder. Former CEO of Red Zebra, Bennett Zier, stated at the time, “I am excited about our continued growth and our new ability to serve loyal Redskins fans in and around Richmond. WXGI is the perfect addition to our new group of radio stations.”

ESPN 950 is part of the Redskins Radio Network, which carries all Redskins games throughout the season. The station also broadcasts local sports talk every weekday, including SportsPhone with Big Al and Hardly Workin' with Greg Burton. In addition, they carry Richmond Spiders sports, Washington Nationals baseball, and the various properties syndicated by ESPN Radio, including Monday Night Football, MLB, NBA, and the Bowl Championship Series.

Current staff

Hosts

• "Big Al" Coleman
• Greg Burton

External links

• ESPN 950 Online
• Query the FCC's AM station database for WXGI
• Radio-Locator Information on WXGI
• Query Arbitron's AM station database for WXGI