On July 1, 1987 The city that never sleeps debuted the first 24-7 all-sports radio station in the USA. Steve Somers was here--and perhaps you, there--in WFAN's earliest days, an anxious sports media journeyman who had accepted a minimum-paygrade contract and the six-hour, overnight time slot that came with it.
It was here, overnight and under the covers, that he made a name for himself as Captain Midnight, the steadfast on-air companion to New York City's finest: its truck drivers, bartenders, students, partygoers, and insomniacs; butchers, bakers, and candlestick makers; those looking for after-dark quiet from noisy days; and, of course, those seeking the precious company that radio, being intimate and personal, can give.
While Somers has been called the soul of WFAN, it was those listeners and callers that became the soul of his shows: Jerome from Manhattan, Short Al from Brooklyn, Doris from Rego Park, and Jerry from Queens (who knew a thing or two about making a show about nothing).
In
Me Here, You There, Somers reflects on life as a Schmoozer from San Francisco with a dream-come-true of working the concrete jungle. From a childhood calling play-by-play into a lightbulb he pretended was a microphone, to three decades in the WFAN studios, Somers details the luck, leaps of faith, and memorable characters that, for better and for worse, shaped his improbable career.
By turns wry and enchanting, Somers has authored a must-read for die-hard New York sports fans and anyone who appreciates a good story
