Andy Ockershausen , a legendary radio executive who guided WMAL Radio in Washington D.C. to become a dominant ratings force, died Wednesday just days after his 92nd birthday.
Ockershausen was hired at WMAL in 1949 and rose to become the station’s general manager in 1960. He managed the station for nearly three decades at a time that it dominated Washington’s morning airwaves with the broadcast team of Frank Harden and Jackson Weaver.
Ockershausen handpicked the broadcast team of Sonny Jurgensen, Sam Huff, and Frank Herzog – a trio so popular that Redskins fans would often mute their televisions and listen to the popular radio broadcast.
While his career in the broadcasting industry was clearly remarkable, his dedication to the community he called home for so long was equally as impressive. Ockershausen earned the prestigious Washingtonian of the year award in 1995.
He served as a director of the Greater Washington Board of Trade for four decades as a founder of Leadership Washington. He spearheaded a fundraising effort, which raised more than $7 million for Washington’s Children’s Hospital.
Ockershausen was involved with the Leukemia Lymphoma Society, the Salvation Army and the D.C. Police Boys and Girls Club.
