George Arthur Richards (March 9, 1889 – May 28, 1951) was an American radio executive who owned stations WJR in Detroit, KMPC in Los Angeles, and WGAR in Cleveland. From 1934 to 1940, he also owned the Detroit Lions of the National Football League. He played a major role in sponsoring the nationwide radio program of the politicized Catholic priest Charles Coughlin.
Early life
Richards was born on March 9, 1889, in Crete, Illinois. At the age of fourteen he moved to Chicago and worked as an elevator operator. He held a variety of jobs until 1911, when he became a tire salesman for the Firestone Tire and Rubber Company. In 1912 he became the manager of the Firestone's Columbus, Ohio, branch. He was the youngest branch manager in company history. In 1917 he joined Firestone's sales department in Detroit. Richards married Frances Stevenson on February 22, 1922, having met as the result of a horseback riding accident.
Automotive dealer
Richards left Firestone in 1921 to form the Cunningham-Richards Co., which was one of the highest selling Cunningham dealerships in the country. In 1924 he became the Oakland dealer for Metro Detroit. He sold Oaklands and Pontiacs until 1929, when he gave up his dealership to focus on radio.
Radio
Richards first became involved in radio through advertising. His dealership was one of the first businesses in Detroit to advertise on radio. On December 25, 1926, Richards took over operations of Detroit station WJR (which officially operated as "WJR-WCX", a consolidated license where Richards owned "WJR" while the Detroit Free Press owned "WCX"). The takeover happened founding owner Jewett Radio & Phonographic Co. was forced to put the station into bankruptcy; Richards was credited for helping the station successfully turn a profit. General Order 40, a major reorganization of radio frequencies by the Federal Radio Commission (FRC) implemented later in the year, allowed WJR-WCX to be designated a clear-channel station. Richards moved "WJR" to new studios in the Fisher Building in December 1929, while WCX remained at the Free Press Building. By April 1929, Richards purchased WCX from the Free Press and WJR-WCX dropped the "WCX" call letters. WJR was upgraded to in 1935.
In September 1930, Richards, along with WJR associates Leo J. Fitzpatrick and P. M. Thomas, purchased the assets of two stations—WCSO in Springfield, Ohio, and WFJC in Akron, Ohio, both operating on the same frequency under a time-share agreement—and consolidated them to form WGAR in Cleveland, Ohio, bearing his initials. WGAR signed on as the first NBC Blue affiliate in Cleveland. By September 1937, WGAR switched from NBC Blue to CBS. It was as a CBS affiliate that WGAR began producing multiple influential programs, including Wings Over Jordan and Cleveland Orchestra broadcasts over the network, and became a starting point for comedian Jack Paar's career. Originally operating under facilities much weaker than WJR by comparison, a series of upgrades followed, including a frequency switch to in June 1944 and a power increase to in July 1947. In both cases, WGAR fought extensively in court with Akron CBS affiliate WADC, which twice petitioned the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to take over WGAR's facilities.
After acquiring an option to purchase Los Angeles station KNX, only to relinquish it to CBS, Richards purchased crosstown KMPC on May 5, 1937. The purchase came as Richards began suffering varied health ailments, including a coronary thrombosis in 1938 that left him unable to do much heavy exercise, and necessitated his taking up a second residence in Beverly Hills.