The final hour of Steve Somers’ full-time WFAN career was a hodgepodge of everything that made The Schmoozer a legend on the airwaves – from the Mr. Minks update leading into the show to the Captain Midnight intro to the epic monologue, Schmoozer got off to a flying start.
“What I want to say about the Jets could get me fired in retirement!” Somers said to open his final show. “The Great Mike White Hope has become the Great Mike White Hopeless!”
Jerry Seinfeld of course had to call in, doing so at the top of the show proper while in Hollywood working on a movie about the invention of the Pop-Tart:
“Steve, it’s my pleasure, and I hope you can hear me through the champagne they’re spraying and pumping “We Are The Champions” in the halls as you’re carried out!” Seinfeld laughed. “One of the greatest New York sports voices we’ve ever heard, and on behalf of all New York sports fans who enjoy your rhythms, humor, and humanity, thank you. Nobody puts the work into openings like you did, and I feel particularly bonded with you because we’ve done so much over the years, and I had to help the WFAN brass understand how important you were to the station. You’ve reinforced our enthusiasm for New York sports, and been the icing on that cupcake, and we appreciate it!”
Eddie Scozzare was next up on the show, sticking around long after Boomer & Gio were off the air, to tell THE story about how he became THE Eddie Scozzare.
“Remember when Bobby Bonilla was going to sign with the Mets, and I called up his agent?” Eddie recalled. “I said I was Eddie Scozzare from WFAN and he said “The Eddie Scozzare?” and I told you the story, and now I have something for my tombstone!”
Of course, we now know Eddie as the master of the control room, but he had to thank Steve for giving him his start as an overnight producer.
“You helped me hone whatever my skill was, and it really started with you on the overnight,” Scozzare said. “It was only 14 or 15 months, but it felt like years!”
And that led to another legend calling in: MARK CHERNOFF, who asked if Steve went out for a smoke break during his first break of the show…which led to another fun WFAN story: the time Schmooze went for a smoke break during a station break, but he ended up stuck in the elevator between the 10th and 11th floors at 345 Hudson for over an hour, forcing Cherny to call anyone and everyone he could think of to fill Somers’ shift until The Schmoozer was un-stuck.
“Thank God Richard Neer was around at the time!” Chernoff laughed.
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Chernoff also told the story of how Mark helped introduce Steve to Mrs. Schmooze, his wife Robin, whom he has been with for nearly a quarter-century now, and have Somers some love for how he cared for his brother with special needs after their parents passed away.
“You deserve so much credit for how you took care of him; I know you’ve mentioned it, but I don’t think people know enough about how caring you are and how much you took care of him,” Chernoff said.
Our former PD did have one request, though, and Schmooze filled it later heading into a break: one last playing of Howie Rose’s “MATTEAU! MATTEAU! MATTEAU!” call from the 1994 Eastern Conference Finals, which led into Steve’s show that overnight way back in the summer of ’94.
That brought ESPN’s Steve Levy, a former WFAN staffer, to the hotline, calling from Santa Clara ahead of tonight’s Rams-49ers Monday Night Football broadcast.
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“I’m a bit player in this whole thing, but I did want to share my two cents from just outside your beloved San Francisco,” Levy said. “Thank you for how you treated me when I was young and just coming up. You’ve taught a lot of people the right way about how to go about things in the industry, and you were a key figure in the success of the first and best all-sports radio station in the country.”
“It’s a two-way street and you can’t do it by yourself; you have to have the kind of help and support that makes your program meaningful and worthwhile,” Somers replied.
And then came the coup de grace of the hour: MIKE FRANCESA returned to the WFAN airwaves!
“I hear you got this hour today in lieu of two years severance!” Francesa laughed. “This is your moment. All those days I saw you diligently working on your open when you followed me, or all of those days you preceded us from 10-1…this is about you and your brilliant career that will be remembered as long as there is a WFAN. What WFAN is and has become, you are as big a part of as anyone who has ever stepped through the doors! Everybody brought their unique takes, and that’s what’s special – when you’re lucky enough to brand yourself as a unique talent. You did it for a long time. Take a compliment for what you accomplished, because this is your day.”
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After all those appearances, plus chats with Rich Ackerman and Bernie Williams, it was 2 p.m., and time for a break…but because it was Schmooze’s day, Carton & Roberts were in no hurry to rush Steve off the air, giving him one more segment.
Steve wanted to take some callers, but instead, he got to thank Paul Arzooman, who created many of Steve’s creative opening segments and played one of Steve’s favorites one more time, and got some last love from Craig as he prepared for his show.
And then, it was time for one last Steve Somers goodbye, with tongue in cheek and a twinkle in the eye:
“All of this is surreal and overwhelming, it’s been like a eulogy! But the bottom line is I appreciate all that has been said. I don’t know if I deserved it, but it’s a two-way street. Thank you for 34 years. Too many people on the other side of the glass to name; so many people are responsible for me lasting 34 years, but I was on an excellent team. And to the people who called in, you gave me a chance, a breath, a life and a career. I’d like to think we have a few more years left, and I hope there comes a time where we meet again on the air. Thank you all very, very much for being so much a part of my life for 34 years. Goodbye, and the best of everything to you all. Bye-bye.”
Thank you, Schmooze, for 34 wonderful years.
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