Hal Jackson has passed away this afternoon due to illness reportsWBLS. He was 96 years old.
Jackson was a legendary man of firsts. He was was the first Black radio announcer in network radio; the first Black host of a jazz show on the ABC network; the first Black play by play sports announcer on radio in the country; the first Black to host an interracial network television show on NBC-TV; the first person to broadcast from a theater live; organized and owned the first Black team to win the World Basketball Championship; the first Black host of an international network television presentation; was instrumental in acquiring the first radio station owned and operated by Blacks in New York City; the first to broadcast live from New York into Japan; the first New York City radio personality to broadcast three daily shows on three different stations in the same day; the first to broadcast live via satellite from Jamaica into New York and currently hosts a radio program which has been rated #1 by Arbitron continuously in its time slot for over 11 years on 107.5 WBLS in New York.
R.I.P. to a legend!
