WOLH (1230 AM) is a

radio station Radio broadcasting is transmission of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based radio ...

airing a

sports Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can, th ...

format known as "ESPN 96.3 - 1230". Licensed to

Florence, South Carolina Florence is a city in and the county seat of Florence County, South Carolina, United States. It lies at the intersection of Interstates 20 and 95 and is the eastern terminus of the former. It is the primary city within the Florence metropolit ...

, United States, the station serves the Florence area. The station is owned by

Community Broadcasters, LLC Community Broadcasters, LLC is a Watertown, New York based radio holding group that owns radio stations in its own market and surrounding areas. It was founded by media executives Bruce Mittman and Jim Leven, and started out in 2006 by buying st ...

. The station's programming also aired on

WHYM WHYM (1260 AM) is an American radio station licensed to serve Lake City, South Carolina. The station is currently owned by Community Broadcasters, LLC. The station currently simulcasts WFRK, a news/talk station known as "Live 95". Programming S ...

in Lake City and W255BD in

Darlington Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. The River Skerne flows through the town; it is a tributary of the River Tees. The Tees itself flows south of the town. In the 19th century, Darlington underwen ...

FM Translator

WOLH programming is relayed to an

FM translator A broadcast relay station, also known as a satellite station, relay transmitter, broadcast translator (U.S.), re-broadcaster (Canada), repeater (two-way radio) or complementary station (Mexico), is a broadcast transmitter which repeats (or tran ...

in addition to the main frequency on 1230

kHz The hertz (symbol: Hz) is the unit of frequency in the International System of Units (SI), equivalent to one event (or cycle) per second. The hertz is an SI derived unit whose expression in terms of SI base units is s−1, meaning that on ...

History

WOLH at 1230 AM was once WOLS, signing on in 1937; it was the first radio station in

. WOLS was once owned and operated by

Melvin Purvis Melvin Horace Purvis II (October 24, 1903 – February 29, 1960) was an American law enforcement official and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agent. Given the nickname "Little Mel" because of his short, frame, Purvis became noted for leadi ...

(1903–1960), the former FBI agent credited with capturing or killing

John Dillinger John Herbert Dillinger (June 22, 1903 – July 22, 1934) was an American gangster during the Great Depression. He led the Dillinger Gang, which was accused of robbing 24 banks and four police stations. Dillinger was imprisoned several times and ...

and

Pretty Boy Floyd Charles Arthur Floyd (February 3, 1904 – October 22, 1934), nicknamed Pretty Boy Floyd, was an American bank robber. He operated in the West and Central states, and his criminal exploits gained widespread press coverage in the 1930s. He was s ...

in the 1930s. Studios were located on the 100 block of S. Dargan Street in downtown Florence. Daytime power was 1,000 watts but reduced to 500 watts at sunset. WOLS was home to the "Holiday Show" Hosted by Doug Williams. The program was on the air for 28 years before moving to television for another eight years. WOLS was an adult standards station using the Stardust format. Most of its programming was also heard on

. Both stations aired some

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

programming. In 2003, WOLS was bought by the

Colonial Radio Group Andrulonis Media, LLC is a multimedia marketing firm that owns several radio stations in the United States. It is controlled by the Andrulonis family and currently has stations based in the Grand Strand of South Carolina and Cumberland County in No ...

and was known as "The

Sports Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can, th ...

Animal."It featured

Sporting News Radio SportsMap is a sports radio Radio network, network that is distributed by Gow Media. The SportsMap Radio Network supplies its network affiliates with a 24-hour schedule of sports programming, including call-in shows and sports updates. Over its h ...

programming and had a weekly sports talk radio show hosted by on-air personalities Jeff Andrulonis and Bradley Turner. When GHB Broadcasting sold the station and WHYM to Estuardo Rodriguez in 2006, the call letters WTIX were used. On February 12, 2008, the call sign was changed to WOLH so that the old call sign "WOLS" could be moved to a

Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...

station upon its switch to oldies. WOLH was then known as Radio Fiesta, with a

Regional Mexican Regional Mexican is a Latin music radio format encompassing the musical genres from the different parts of rural Mexico and the Southwestern United States. Genres include banda, country en español, Duranguense, grupero, mariachi, New Mexico ...

format, with programming also heard on

, WODR and

WFMO WFMO (860 AM) is a radio station broadcasting an Urban Gospel format. Licensed to Fairmont, North Carolina, United States, the station is currently owned by Stuart Epperson, Jr., through licensee Truth Broadcasting Corporation. History Jim Cla ...

. Miller Communications, Inc. bought WOLH and WHYM in 2008. The switch to the talk format was made in 2009. On October 4, 2012, WOLH changed its format to

Rhythmic oldies Rhythmic oldies is a radio format that concentrates on the rhythmic, R&B, disco, or dance genres of music. Playlists can span from the 1960s through the 2000s and, depending on market conditions, may be designed for African-American or Hispanic a ...

, branded as "Jammin' 98.9" (the 98.9 frequency in the branding is for FM translator W255BD 98.9 FM in

Darlington, South Carolina Darlington is a city located in Darlington County, South Carolina, United States. In 2010, its population was 6,289. It is the county seat of Darlington County. It is part of the Florence, South Carolina Metropolitan Statistical Area. Darlington ...

). On March 1, 2013, WOLH changed its format to sports, with programming from

ESPN Radio ESPN Radio, which is alternately platform-agnostically branded as ESPN Audio, is an American sports radio network and extension of the ESPN television network. It was launched on January 1, 1992, under the original banner of "SportsRadio ESPN". ...

. The ''Press Box Radio'' show with Allen Smothers and Emerson Phillips would remain, as would

South Carolina Gamecocks The South Carolina Gamecocks represent the University of South Carolina in the NCAA Division I. The University of South Carolina uses "Gamecocks" as its official nickname and mascot. While the men's teams were traditionally known as the Fighti ...

basketball; Gamecocks baseball was being added. ESPN programming would include

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

basketball and

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

. Miller Communications sold WOLH, eleven other South Carolina radio stations, and several translators to

for $2.5 million, in a transaction that was consummated on January 7, 2016.

References

External links

Community Broadcasters Florence Stations
{{Sports Radio Stations in South Carolina OLH Radio stations established in 1937