'Mad Dog' Chris Russo and Suzyn Waldman headed to Radio Hall of Fame
Chris Russo goes on air at WFAN on May 22, 1991, in Astoria. Credit: Newsday/Jeffery A. Salter
The Radio Hall of Fame’s Class of 2022 will have a strong WFAN flavor, with three of the nine inductees having ties to the station.
Chris “Mad Dog” Russo, Suzyn Waldman and Jeff Smulyan will be honored at the Nov. 1 induction ceremony in Chicago.
Russo was a WFAN star with his longtime partner Mike Francesa, who was inducted in 2018, before Russo left for what is now SiriusXM in 2008.
Waldman was the first live voice heard on WFAN in 1987 and now calls Yankees games on the station.
“Both as a reporter covering the team and as a broadcaster in the booth, Suzyn has informed and entertained Yankees fans with precision and care for 36 years," the Yankees wrote in a statement congratulating Waldman. "This accomplishment is the deserved result of decades of hard work and dedication to her craft, and we would be remiss to not laud her professionalism and resolve while staring down countless obstacles as a pioneering woman in her field. The Yankees are thrilled to see her recognized in this fashion as she takes her place alongside other luminaries in the broadcast radio world.”
Smulyan was the radio executive behind the founding of WFAN.
The other inductees include Marv Dyson, Lon Helton, Ellen K, Broadway Bill Lee, Walt "Baby" Love and Carol Miller.
Neil Best first worked at Newsday in 1982, returned in 1985 after a detour to Alaska and has been here since, specializing in high schools, college basketball, the NFL and most recently sports media and business.
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