CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- It's 1976 and you're listening to an experimental all-news format for FM stations called the NBC News and Information Service-a new concept with a familiar voice.
The NIS was ahead of its time and when 101.1 FM went from news to rock, Pat Cassidy went from FM to AM.
WMAQ aired country music during the day, carried the white sox at night, and papered the city in bumper stickers that promised to make you rich.
Pat was one of the good morning guys along with Lee Sherwood, Tim Weigel, and Jerry Taft. 1988 brought a new owner and a new sound.
In 2000, a flurry of mergers and acquisitions in broadcasting led to musical chairs on the Chicago radio dial. When it was all over, 670 was the score and Pat Cassidy was on the move.
For two decades, Pat Cassidy and Felicia Middlebrooks would read the first draft of history from triumphs like world series championships for the Cubs and White sox to horrific tragedies.
"We anchored nearly 20 years together covering all the big stories- 9/11, EL Chapo, elections, Black Lives Matter, COVID," Middlebrooks said in a special message to Pat. "You'll soon hear three words: 'you look rested.' I'll miss you on WBBM."
"What you told our listeners on the morning of September 11, 2001 still sends chills down my spine," said longtime morning news editor Jim Benes. "You said something like 'folks, you know what the skyline of New York looks like. Well now, the two towers of the World Trade Center are gone."
The first two decades of the 21st century have been a drumbeat of wars, disputed elections, a global pandemic, and rapid technological change and through it all there has been one constant. No matter what happened, Chicago area listeners could always hear "I'm Pat Cassidy by the dawn's early light" at 5:05 a.m.
Pat's attributes as a journalist, broadcaster, and steady voice in unsteady times are well known, but listeners will also be pleased to know that the friendly person you hear on the air is the same off the air.
Thank you, Pat for 51 years in broadcasting and for two decades of service to WBBM. The dawn's early light won't be the same without you, but we wish you a happy retirement!
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