Radio Broadcasts Negro High School Sports, Lexington, KY

In 1954, Theodore "Cal" Wallace was the first person to broadcast Negro high school sports on the radio in Lexington, KY. At the time, Wallace was employed at WLEX-AM, and while the station manager was out of town, Wallace sold ads for the broadcasts to companies such as Coca-Cola, Pepsi-Cola, and Weber Sausage. The assistant manager did not want to accept the ads; he was unsure how Lexington would react to the broadcasts of Dunbar and Douglass High School basketball games. Cal Wallace ignored the assistant manager and broadcast the games. When the station manager returned, Cal Wallace was accused of running roughshod over the assistant station manager. But, since Wallace had done so well selling ads, and because the listening audience liked the broadcasts, Cal Wallace was allowed to continue broadcasting the games.