In 1971 Weston Adams, Jr the Bruins president told WBZ Radio he would take the Bruins to another station unless they canceled the Sports Huddle and WBZ did so. The Sports Huddle would move to WEEI but they lost most of the 38 states and eastern Canada where WBZ could be heard at night.
The final straw was the show they did the night the Bruins were eliminated by Montreal in the first round. (no tape exists) where that had an on-air funeral.
Here is the final show on WBZ and Eddie, Mark and Jim did not hide their hatred towards the Bruins owner.
If you don't want to listen to the entire show just listen to this call when a listener tried to defend Adams
SEE NO EVIL, HEAR NO EVIL...HA! - Sports Illustrated
Two of the Huddlers' favorite targets arc the Boston Bruins and their home rink, Boston Garden. The Bruins lack class, say the Huddlers. The charge lacks precision, not to mention an original turn of phrase, but apparently, it makes sense to a lot of people who feel that they are being soaked by the Bruin management for the dubious pleasure of occupying a seat in the Garden where the rats run free and the service, if any, is insulting. In their plight, the fans turn to the Huddle. They know that the program will be heard over the clicking of turnstiles, even if they are not.
And the Huddle is heard. "Every building in Boston has rats," complains Weston Adams Jr., president of the Bruins. "Why does Sports Huddle have to pick on ours?"
No reason, says Andelman, except that "the Garden also has no escalators and no air conditioning, and it does have rude ushers, winos and stalactites."
The Huddlers claim WBZ, Boston's richest radio station, was pressured to drop the show by the Bruins. There also was something about a new station manager who did not care for the three loudmouths. A station spokesman says merely that it was a bad show and WBZ dropped it—a mistake, it soon developed. The American Research Bureau ratings for Boston revealed that WBZ's audience fell off 66% during the time spot vacated by the Huddle. WEEI, a 5,000-watter with a four-state audience, picked up the show, and its listeners for that same Sunday night time slot have more than doubled.
What nobody knew at the time was the Adams family was broke.
Westie Adams could be found every afternoon working the counter of the pro shop as he couldn't afford to pay anyone. They held on through the 1972 season but finally sold out to the company that owned TV38. (Storer Broadcasting) simply because they did not have the money to compete with the WHA.
Storer soon found the tax situation involving Boston Garden too much to handle and they sold out 2 years later to 3 brothers from Buffalo.
The final straw was the show they did the night the Bruins were eliminated by Montreal in the first round. (no tape exists) where that had an on-air funeral.
Here is the final show on WBZ and Eddie, Mark and Jim did not hide their hatred towards the Bruins owner.
If you don't want to listen to the entire show just listen to this call when a listener tried to defend Adams
SEE NO EVIL, HEAR NO EVIL...HA! - Sports Illustrated
Two of the Huddlers' favorite targets arc the Boston Bruins and their home rink, Boston Garden. The Bruins lack class, say the Huddlers. The charge lacks precision, not to mention an original turn of phrase, but apparently, it makes sense to a lot of people who feel that they are being soaked by the Bruin management for the dubious pleasure of occupying a seat in the Garden where the rats run free and the service, if any, is insulting. In their plight, the fans turn to the Huddle. They know that the program will be heard over the clicking of turnstiles, even if they are not.
And the Huddle is heard. "Every building in Boston has rats," complains Weston Adams Jr., president of the Bruins. "Why does Sports Huddle have to pick on ours?"
No reason, says Andelman, except that "the Garden also has no escalators and no air conditioning, and it does have rude ushers, winos and stalactites."
The Huddlers claim WBZ, Boston's richest radio station, was pressured to drop the show by the Bruins. There also was something about a new station manager who did not care for the three loudmouths. A station spokesman says merely that it was a bad show and WBZ dropped it—a mistake, it soon developed. The American Research Bureau ratings for Boston revealed that WBZ's audience fell off 66% during the time spot vacated by the Huddle. WEEI, a 5,000-watter with a four-state audience, picked up the show, and its listeners for that same Sunday night time slot have more than doubled.
What nobody knew at the time was the Adams family was broke.
Westie Adams could be found every afternoon working the counter of the pro shop as he couldn't afford to pay anyone. They held on through the 1972 season but finally sold out to the company that owned TV38. (Storer Broadcasting) simply because they did not have the money to compete with the WHA.
Storer soon found the tax situation involving Boston Garden too much to handle and they sold out 2 years later to 3 brothers from Buffalo.
