ESPN's 'First Take' comes to Detroit's WGPR museum; 'You never know you’re making history'
One of the most popular sports television shows around brought its top star to the place that indirectly helped give him become a superstar.
On Friday, ESPN commentator Stephen. A. Smith did a remote broadcast of his lead vehicle, "First Take," from the former WGPR-TV studios — the first Black owned and operated television station in the country — which is now a historical museum.
"Everything starts somewhere and when it comes to things that are owned and operated by African-Americans this is where it started," Smith said on his show. "WGPR is not just about on-air talent, they produced producers and directors, people that are behind the cameras, making decisions about who should be in front of the cameras and the kind of content that should be put out to our communities.
"Once upon a time in our nation's history, a concerted effort was made to make sure that we wouldn't know our history nearly as much as we should. But this history and this station, clearly they were pioneers ... because of that reason above all else, I'm incredibly happy and proud to be here today in Detroit."
'You never know you're making history'
WGPR was founded by William Banks and hit the airwaves on Channel 62 in Detroit in September 1975. One month later, Banks hired Joe Spencer, who started as executive producer and served as program director from 1981-94 before finishing in a managerial role when the station ended in 1995.
"When I first started here, it was really a lot of fun but when you’re making history you never know you’re making history," Spencer, now the president of the WGPR TV Historical Society, said Friday. "You’re just doing what you do. But we always had the spirit about being creative, helping people tell stories.
"One of the legacies WGPR is people we brought on, gave them that initial training and because they were great and smart people they went ahead and had fantastic careers. But no, I never expected this."
The station was sold to CBS, with all of its programming dropped in favor of network and syndicated programs, but not before turning out some of the top talent across the country. Among the most notable former employees is Dave Roberts, who is now the senior vice president of production at ESPN.
"It gives me chills being in this place for just the second or third time since 1979," Roberts, a Detroit native and Wayne State alum, said. "It underscores the importance of never forgetting where you started; (Spencer) is the man who hired me back in 1978 and so it’s my responsibility to make sure I do what I can to never forget where I came from."
Shortly after his show, Smith told the Free Press he was going to take the chance to walk around the WGPR facility, now a museum dedicated to Black broadcasters and journalists, and soak it in. He said he feels honored to be a someone who can give back and pay it forward by bringing his show to Detroit, but he also wanted to express his gratitude for the generations who paved the way for him.
Shortly after his show, Smith told the Free Press he was going to take the chance to walk around the facility, now a museum dedicated to Black broadcasters and journalists, and soak it in. He said he feels honored to be a someone who can give back and pay it forward by bringing the show here, but he also wanted to express his gratitude for the generations who paved the way for him to be able to do so.
"They have a lot to do with why people like myself are standing here today," he said. "For me it was the Stuart Scotts, the John Saunders of the world, Michael Wilbon who's still doing his thing strong today.
"Then you come here, you see where everything originated from and you're just like wow ... you imagine all the people who came before them and what they had to endure and you know I never had to experience that which means they made it easier and better for me."
Next in line
Smith was far from the only celebrity on hand.
After Detroit native and former NFL star Bart Scott joined Smith on the show before hosting his own national show on ESPN Radio, Smith later joined Roberts, fellow ESPN star Jalen Rose and Pistons TV analyst Greg Kelser for a discussion panel for kids.
In addition to sharing tips on their industry, the kids were given the opportunity for a five-minute mock interview with one of the panelists. And there were six scholarships of varying amounts awarded to encourage studies and careers in broadcasting and journalism.
Smith will be the special guest for Saturday's WGPR Historical Society fundraiser, which will also feature Kelser, Pistons vice chairman Arn Tellem, former WGPR and WKBD news anchor Amyre Makupson and Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan.
"Me and the position I'm in now, it's just understanding man, it can be gone tomorrow," Smith said. "At the end of the day, it's about what kind of legacy have you left behind, and there is no legacy if you haven't done anything for anybody but yourself.
"When I come here, it makes you realize it was all in an effort to make a better place for us and that's what a place like this reminds me of. It reminds me of the importance of recalling stuff like that to remind people of the things we should never forget and never take for granted."
Contact Tony Garcia at apgarcia@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter at @realtonygarcia.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: ESPN's 'First Take,' Stephen A. Smith come to Detroit's WGPR museum
