Ted Thorne

Ted Thorne (John “Ted” Thorne) (October 16, 1929 in

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

– April 3, 2007, in

Michigan City, Indiana Michigan City is a city in LaPorte County, Indiana, United States. It is one of the two principal cities of the Michigan City-La Porte, Indiana Metropolitan statistical area, which is included in the Chicago-Naperville-Michigan City Combined sta ...

), at 17 became the youngest sports editor of a

daily newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as politics, business, sports a ...

in the state of Indiana, the '' News-Dispatch'' in Michigan City. He was a television newscaster at WGN in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

during the mid-1950s and early 1960s. Despite being a resident of Michigan City, Thorne influenced public opinion in Gary where he was news and program director of the radio station

WWCA WWCA (1270 AM) is a radio station in Gary, Indiana. It airs a Catholic format, and is part of Relevant Radio's Spanish language network. History Radio station WWCA, an ABC Radio affiliate in Gary, experienced its peak in popularity during the 1 ...

. Thorne hosted the popular noontime program, ''Sound-Off''. He also delivered expanded newscasts at 12pm and 5pm. He was also briefly the news director at station

WLOI WLOI is an AM broadcasting, AM radio station broadcasting on the frequency of 1540 AM, 1540 kHz and licensed to the city of La Porte, Indiana. WLOI broadcasts during Clear-channel station#Daytimers, daylight hours only; 1540 AM is a United States ...

LaPorte, Indiana La Porte (French for "The Door") is a city in LaPorte County, Indiana, United States, of which it is the county seat. Its population was estimated to be 21,341 in 2022. It is one of the two principal cities of the Michigan City, Indiana, Michig ...

, a sister station to

. In the 1960s, Thorne was the television host for Chicago's

WTTW WTTW (channel 11) is a PBS member television station in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Owned by not-for-profit broadcaster Window to the World Communications, Inc., it is sister to commercial classical music radio station WFMT (98.7 FM). The ...

, when that station aired the Northwest Indiana regional basketball tournaments each winter. From 1978 to 1983, he was general manager of

WIMS WIMS is an AM radio, AM Station broadcasting on 1420 kHz in Michigan City, Indiana, and serves the northwest Indiana listening area. Its format is primarily classic hits music, news, talk and sports. The station is currently owned by Gerard ...

Radio in Michigan City. His career allowed him to travel worldwide and to meet notable

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

s and personalities including

U.S. presidents The president of the United States is the head of state and head of government of the United States, indirectly elected to a four-year term Term may refer to: * Terminology, or term, a noun or compound word used in a specific context, in pa ...

Kennedy Kennedy may refer to: People * John F. Kennedy (1917–1963), 35th president of the United States * John Kennedy (Louisiana politician), (born 1951), US Senator from Louisiana * Kennedy (surname), a family name (including a list of persons with t ...

Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...

Carter Carter(s), or Carter's, Tha Carter, or The Carter(s), may refer to: Geography United States * Carter, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Carter, Mississippi, an unincorporated community * Carter, Montana, a census-designated place * Carter, ...

and

Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...

. Thorne also interviewed baseball legends

Ernie Banks Ernest Banks (January 31, 1931 – January 23, 2015), nicknamed "Mr. Cub" and "Mr. Sunshine", was an American professional baseball player who starred in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a shortstop and first baseman for the Chicago Cubs between ...

and

Ted Williams Theodore Samuel Williams (August 30, 1918 – July 5, 2002) was an American professional baseball player and manager. He played his entire 19-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career, primarily as a left fielder, for the Boston Red Sox from 1939 ...

and the film stars

Paul Newman Paul Leonard Newman (January 26, 1925 – September 26, 2008) was an American actor, film director, race car driver, philanthropist, and entrepreneur. He was the recipient of numerous awards, including an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, three ...

and

James Stewart James Maitland Stewart (May 20, 1908 – July 2, 1997) was an American actor and military pilot. Known for his distinctive drawl and everyman screen persona, Stewart's film career spanned 80 films from 1935 to 1991. With the strong morality h ...

. He hosted several local events including the Miss Gary and Miss Indiana scholarship pageants. He graduated from Elston High School in Michigan City in 1947 and attended

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. Campuses Indiana University has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration of IUPUI. *Indiana Universit ...

. He was a member of the Indiana Association of Broadcasters and the Michigan City Exchange Club. Thorne married Nancy L. Schrader in 1951. She predeceased him in 1993. They had two children, Deborah, who married Brian Armstrong and had two children, Ian and Emily Armstrong; and Jeffrey, who married Joanne, and had two children, Jennelle and Julia Thorne. {{DEFAULTSORT:Thorne, Ted 1929 births 2007 deaths