Fútbol de Primera celebrates its 20th Anniversary.

A lot of things happened on a day like this, the day of Fútbol de Primera’s birthday. They grew from broadcasting in one affiliated station to having the largest Hispanic Radio Network in The United States…

August 27, 1889 – Boxer Jack Dempsey was defeated for the first time in his career as George LaBlanche used the pivot punch to knock Dempsey into nighty-night land. The punch was later banned from boxing.

August 27, 1921 – J.E. Clair, who owned the Acme Packing Company, bought a pro football franchise for Green Bay, WI. Cheeseheads could have been their name, but he decided to pay tribute to those who packed the meat at his processing plant. Hence the name: the Green Bay Packers.

August 27, 1938 – Monte Pearson led the New York Yankees to a 13-0, no-hit victory over the Cleveland Indians.

August 27, 1970 – The Troubadour in Los Angeles, CA was the venue of singer Elton John’s first concert appearance in America and a record company executive for UNI records (a division of MCA) signed Elton to a recording contract.

August 27, 1981 – Divers probing the wreckage of the luxury cruise ship “Andrea Doria” recovered two safes from the purser’s office. The “Andrea Doria” sank in a collision with the Swedish liner “Stockholm” (July 25, 1956). What was in the safes? Oh, only about a million dollars in cash and jewelry.

August 27, 1984 – A new face joined the group of journalists on CBS-TV’s “60 Minutes”. Diane Sawyer became the fifth reporter on the top-rated TV newsmagazine. Mike Wallace, Morley Safer, Harry Reasoner and Ed Bradley welcomed Sawyer to the show.

August 27, 1986 – Nolan Ryan of the Houston Astros notched career win #250, by leading the Astros to a 7-1 victory over the Chicago Cubs.

1989 – Fútbol de Primera emerged onto the Sports Radio scene when Alejandro Gutman broadcasted the very first soccer show from the headquarters of San Jose’s KLOK radio. Andres Cantor, the most recognized voice in soccer and longtime friend, immediately teamed up with Gutman to create the first and only “Fútbol Radio Network” in the country. By the time the 1994 World Cup aired in the United States, FDP Radio had already grown to almost 40 affiliates covering international soccer and other sporting events. In 2001, the network expanded tremendously by acquiring the Exclusive Radio Rights to the 2002 FIFA World Cup Korea-Japan, and the 2006 FIFA World Cup Germany. Both of these premium properties helped solidify FDP Radio as the true soccer authority in Hispanic radio.

20 years later, FDP Radio continues to be the main source of World Class soccer in the United States. FDP Radio is once again the Exclusive Rights holder of the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa and the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil. In addition to its elite World Cup coverage, FDP Radio is also home to the Mexican National Team since 2003, among other important international soccer competitions.

Along with the celebration of its 20th Anniversary, FDP Radio will also commemorate the exciting growth of the Network with the addition of its 100th affiliate station. At FDP Radio, we are proud of the loyalty and trust that our millions of listeners across the country have instilled in us over the years. The solid record of knowledge and experience that our sponsors have come to expect from us has been the best success story over the past 20 years. FDP Radio has repeatedly proven to be the listener’s choice for the best in Hispanic soccer programming.