It might be surprising to learn that Ordway was not the star of the
station. Eddie Andelman was the drive-time host from 4-7PM. Ordway,
started out as a midday host, paired with Janet Prensky from 1-4PM. Dale
Arnold was on from 10AM-1PM and Craig Mustard from 7-11PM. Andy Moes
was the morning show.
Ordway’s show with Prensky (Glenn and Janet) was largely
forgettable. The show lasted a year, and Prensky’s contract was not
renewed. Ordway then spent time with Dave Shea, among others. By this
time, Ordway was also the fulltime play-by-play voice of the Celtics,
after Most was forced to retire due to health reasons in 1990. In August
of 1994, WEEI moved from 590AM to 850AM.
In early 1995, Ordway agreed to a four-year deal with WEEI to
continue as voice of the Celtics. However, the team, which had the right
of refusal, declined the contract. (If you wondered why Ordway was
so negative about the Celtics for years on WEEI, other than the fact
that they were terrible, there you go.) Speculation was that they
felt that Ordway and partner Jerry Sichting were too harsh on the team
during their broadcasts. Ordway then accepted the position of program
manager for WEEI, a move that would change the very shape and direction
of sports radio.
Ordway’s Moves Pave Way For Record-Breaking Ratings
In July, Ordway fired Michael Andelman from his weekend show, citing
poor ratings. In August, he announced that the station would be
radically changing up their lineup. Starting on September 11th of 1995,
the WEEI lineup would consist of the Fabulous Sports Babe from 10-12, The A-Team with Eddie Andelman and Dale Arnold from noon to 3PM and The Big Show, featuring Ordway himself, from 3-6PM. Ordway reinvented himself as “The Big O” and thus an 18-year run began.
Among the original co-hosts on The Big Show were Gerry Callahan, Dan Shaughnessy, Steve Nelson, Lyndon Byers, Cedric Maxwell and Fred Smerlas.
WEEI dropped The Fabulous Sports Babe in October 1997, (Jason Wolfe
by then had replaced Ordway as Program Director) replacing her in the
10-12 spot with John Dennis and Gerry Callahan. That duo become the 6-10
morning show in September of 1999, and the A-Team moved from 10-2 and
The Big Show from 2-6.