This year commemorates the 70th anniversary of when Beaver County’s first radio station, WBVP, was heard over the airwaves for the the first time on May 25, 1948. To mark the historical event, each week, another “70th Anniversary Moment” will be showcased on the airwaves and published on the station’s online feeds.
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Not only is WBVP Radio celebrating a big anniversary this year, but one of its prominent sports shows is marking a major milestone as well. Now in it’s 30th season, listeners have been able to tune in to live interviews with area high school coaches as part of “Coaches Corner” on WBVP. For the past 18 years, the show has been simulcast on WBVP and WMBA. As the brainchild of former General Manager and sports director of WBVP, Chris Shovlin, “Coaches Corner” originally debuted as a weekly live broadcast in 1989 at the former Didio’s Restaurant in Rochester, PA. Much like it still is today, the broadcast was held on Wednesday evenings live on site at an a Beaver County area establishment where the public could come and watch the program live in person. Shovlin, along with Mark Razz and Bob Barrickman from WBVP would hold court and interview coaches of that era including Frank Marocco from Aliquippa, Frank Antonini from Ambridge, Maxie Williams from New Brighton, Larry Bruno from Beaver Falls and later on Geneva College, Karl Florie from Riverside, Pat Tarquinio from Beaver, Joe Hamilton from Blackhawk, Don Phillips from Center and Al Guandolo from Freedom and Monaca, among others, in those early editions of “Coaches Corner”.
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The show moved to The Best Cellar in Beaver Falls for the second season. The Best Cellar was located in the basement of the former Granada Theater and boasted a true night club atmosphere where nightly entertainment was featured at the venue and it gave the show a bit more of a show business atmosphere. The program spent a couple years housed in the basement level of the grand old, long since demolished, theater building in Beaver Falls before settling in at Robert’s Roadside Inn in Bridgewater, PA for season number four, and where it continues to be broadcast from even to this day, around 1991. Not long after moving to Robert’s Roadside Inn, “Coaches Corner” was extended into the winter months and began to feature guest
interviews with Beaver County, PA area high school basketball coaches, including people like John Miller from Blackhawk, Dave Podbielski from Beaver Falls, Mike Zmijanac from Aliquippa, and Dave Nichol from Monaca just to name a few. To date, somewhere around 600 “Coaches Corner” shows have been broadcast including dozens of state championship celebration editions with many local high school coaches along with their teams and fans. Many current and past head coaches that have appeared at Coaches Corner in recent days, initially tagged along with their former high school coaches as player guests to the program. To name a few, Ryan Matsook originally was interviewed on “Coaches Corner”, along with his dad and head coach, Dan Matsook, as a star wide receiver on Rochester’s 1998 state championship team and in recent years, the younger Matsook made many appearances when he served as the head football coach at Beaver Falls High School. Current Blackhawk High School head football coach, Zack Hayward, was also first introduced to the “Coaches Corner” audience as quarterback for the Cougars about ten years ago. Reon Nesmith originally piled in to the sports patio at Robert’s Roadside Inn with the rest of his 1994 Beaver Falls high school state championship basketball team as guests on the show, and has made encore appearances in modern times as an assistant with the Beaver Falls boys and head coach with the New Brighton girls basketball teams.
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In recent days, “Coaches Corner” still includes the very recognizable voice of host and anchor for the past 24 years, Bob Barrickman, along with fellow WBVP and WMBA sports announcers Tom Hays and Bruce Frey. Other announcers that have been part of the show over the years also included Jim Frederick, Kerry Lacey and Al Goehring.
Coaches Corner continues to air on Wednesday Nights throughout high school football and basketball seasons live from the sports patio at Robert’s Roadside Inn on Wednesday nights from 7 until 8 P.M.
“70th Anniversary Moments” is presented by Abbey Carpet and Floor, Albert’s Heating, Cooling and Plumbing, Aliquippa Giant Eagle, The Beaver Falls Municipal Authority, Beaver Valley Auto Mall, Beaver Valley Sheet Metal, Castlebrook Development, The Community College Of Beaver County, Farmers Building and Savings Bank, Freedom United Federal Credit Union, Hank’s Frozen Custard and Mexican food, The Health Huts, Kitchen City, Laughlin Insurance Agency, Rochester Manor and Villa and Young’s Jewelry and Coins.