2014 Legacy Inductee
Bob Joseph
1928 - 2005
Robert P. Joseph was born in Miami in 1928 and was raised by adoptive parents. As a child he was very outgoing and was a born performer. He was State Champion of Florida tap dancer and studied piano for sixteen years, often singing as he played. During high school he began working overnights at WKAT AM. He also was stadium announcer for Miami Edison High. From 1948 while a student at the University of Miami, he was stadium announcer for the Hurricanes. He met Jackie Alderman in school and they were married after graduation in 1952. It was the time of the Korean War and Bob was drafted and served until 1954 in a variety of places and positions. While in Kentucky, he worked part time at WHOP in Hopkinsville. He played piano and was lead singer for the Melodiers, an Army Trio which competed on the Ted Mack Amateur Hour and won. After the Army he returned to Miami’s WKAT for a while, then, went back to Kentucky to work for WHOP again. The owner of WHOP promoted Joseph to manager of his new station in Illinois and then moved Joseph to another of his stations in Paducah, Kentucky. In 1964, Bob and Jackie bought WDMF in Buford, Georgia changing the call letters to WDYX and increasing the power to 5,000 watts. In 1970, they built WGCO in Midway and in 1975, WIAF in Clarkesville. The entire Joseph family worked at the stations. “Skipper Bob” as he was lovingly known around Lake Lanier served in local politics but never wandered far from the microphone. They sold the stations and retired in 2003. Bob passed away in 2005.
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