This December, 95.9 WATD will be celebrating its 45th anniversary and our first ever broadcast was the Hull vs. Ashland: Super Bowl from Nickerson Field in 1977.
The station’s tower and transmitter were turned on two days ahead of schedule to cover the game.
Bill Wilhelm was on that call, and for the next 40 years, was the leader of all the station’s high school sports coverage.
Bill was our station’s first Sports Director, overseeing and participating in four decades of high school football, basketball, and hockey broadcasts, as well as hosting the weekly Sports Exchange talk show.
Tirelessly working to make sure that every accomplishment of local student athletes was given appropriate recognition, Bill Wilhelm was, for so many on the South Shore, the first name that came to mind when they thought of high school sports.
This past Saturday, Bill was inducted into the Duxbury High School Athletics Hall of Fame; recognition of his over 30 years as head coach of the junior varsity boys soccer team, as well as his innumerable contributions off the field.
Nowhere are those contributions felt more than here at 95.9 WATD. Here, entering our 45th year, we are still able to provide coverage of South Shore high school athletics thanks to the groundwork Bill laid over so many years.
In honor of his good work, WATD announces the establishment of the Bill Wilhelm Award, which will be awarded annually to the area’s most outstanding high school football player.
A panel of local experts has been constructed to contribute to the award process.
An initial group of 10 semifinalists will be announced on Wednesday, November 30. This group will be pared down, and three finalists will be announced on Tuesday, December 6 during the Main Event w/ Quinn Kelly on 101.1 WBMS.
The final award ceremony will be held at a date and time to be determined.
For so many years, Bill Wilhelm was the driving force behind all the good work of the WATD Sports Department. As we continue to strive to fulfill his mission, we do so with his name foremost on our minds as well.
