There seems to be a happy tone on Chicago sports radio these days. That’s purely an outsider’s perspective, but it makes a lot of sense when you factor in that the White Sox are the most exciting team in baseball, the Cubs are arguably the most surprising and glass-half-empty-turned-half-full team at the moment, and to top it all off, the Bears drafted Justin Fields.
David Haugh, co-host of Mully and Haugh at 670 The Score, is easily one of the most qualified media personalities to speak on the subject. He’s been on the local beat since 2003, coming to the city as a writer working for the Chicago Tribune. During that time he’s seen all the incredible ups and inconceivable downs that sports fans in the city have experienced.
“It feels very resurgent,” said Haugh. “When the Bears drafted Justin Fields they hit reset on their organization in a way they hadn’t done in a long time. Justin Fields gives them hope and it coincides with the Cubs and White Sox both being good. The Bulls have new management, people have been waiting on that for a while, and the Blackhawks are young and interesting. We are blessed in Chicago to have a sports landscape that is full of possibilities. Everyone loves possibilities.”
These days, Haugh is fully focused on his radio show. He left the Tribune in January of 2020 after trying his hand at both hosting a morning radio show and being a columnist for two years. As you can imagine, balancing both was incredibly difficult. But in the end he chose radio. It wasn’t because he doesn’t love to write. It was more of a decision of where the two industries were headed.
“In 2018 when The Score came to me with an opportunity to do mornings, it was a combination of, one, I’ve done enough radio to know how to do it, and secondly, it was a good time given the newspaper industry realities,” he said. “I just felt like the right move to make.”
But the adjustment wasn’t so easy in the beginning. By nature, many sportswriters are night owls, seeing as they’re routinely at evening games and always rushing to meet late-night deadlines. David Haugh was in that group of writers walking from the ballpark to his car well after the 9 to 5’ers in the city had already gone to bed. Going from that lifestyle to waking up in the wee hours of the morning to do a radio show was a challenge.
“The hours changing was a pretty dramatic lifestyle adjustment,” he said. “I can’t say that I initially embraced it, because if you do one job for so long you can become a night owl. So my body clock had to be totally readjusted. As far as responsibilities it was hard to write several times a week the first year or so. As a professional you think you’re capable of so much you continue to try to do everything, at some point it just wasn’t feasible. Ultimately it came to the point where it was time to give radio my full attention and 100 percent commitment. That adjustment took a while but I think I’m used to it now.”
It took adjustment but it was something David Haugh could control. Replacing a 26-year veteran at the station, well, maybe not so much. Being hired to fill Brian Hanley’s seat in morning drive was tough in more ways than one. For starters, the listeners had been accustomed to his voice for so many years. Secondly, the two were great friends.
“I think the way I approached it was the way that I have always approached everything, which is I’m not trying to deny what he accomplished at The Score, it was tremendous,” said Haugh. “He’s a Score legend. In some ways I was replacing that and I respected all that he brought to the Chicago media scene, both on the air and in print. Brian was a friend and there are people that continue to be loyal to him to this day. And that’s great. It just speaks to how much he connected with the audience and I was respectful of that.
“I didn’t campaign for the job and I didn’t do anything except take advantage of an opportunity. I always tried to be as respectful of Brian as possible and his place in Score history. He’s as classy as they come.”
Luckily, with all the challenges that came with the morning drive seat, one of the best program directors the industry has ever seen came along with it too. Mitch Rosen was exactly what Haugh needed to adjust to his new role. If not for Rosen, Haugh probably isn’t doing sports radio today, but The Score PD saw and heard something he knew would work well in mornings next to Mike “Mully “Mulligan.
“The only reason I felt comfortable moving from the Chicago Tribune is because Mitch made me feel like it was doable and because we connected at a lot of different levels,” Haugh said. “I’ve never had a boss more attentive to the needs, personally and professionally, like Mitch. What he’s done is that he’ll offer constructive criticism or points or tips since I’m not a radio guy. I’m not going to pretend that I’m trained in radio. He’s been very good from a technical aspect and he’s been tremendously supportive.
“But what I like most, I think, is that this is what’s going on at The Score overall, Mitch is as positive of a person as you’re ever going to work for or work with. This can be a toxic industry and a very soul sucking experience if you’re in the wrong department or the wrong station. He works tirelessly to create an environment where positivity thrives. That’s important.”
Mully and Haugh came in this year as the No.9 Major Market Morning Show in the BSM rankings. A hat tip is deserved for several people involved. One goes to David Haugh for the commitment he’s made to be great in radio. Another goes to Rosen for making the move to turn a former columnist into a successful drive-time radio host. And the last one goes to Mully, who hit the ground running with his new partner.
“Mully and I used to be competitors,” Haugh said. “My first experience with Mully was probably going at it and trying to get the last question in at some Bears press conference. We would compete and we developed a respect for one another and then became friends. What I like about it is we tend to see the sports world the same way.”
What a time to host in Chicago. The White Sox could win the pennant. The Cubs could win the pennant. God help the city if the North and South siders meet in a seven-game series to decide the World Series. It’s going to be an incredible summer in Chicago. For a guy like Hough that’s seen so many of them, it’s cool to hear the giddiness in his voice about how special these next few months could be.
He’s already a Chicago legend for his written words. Soon, he’ll be one because of his spoken words.
“It’s a privilege,” David Haugh said. “It really is every day. I was asked this year to do a Saturday morning baseball show, which has been a Score staple for 25 years. I host with Bruce Levine on Saturday mornings. Nothing revealed how much passion there is in Chicago than on Friday during the re-opening of Wrigley Field. It was a re-opening of a ballpark and a city being re-invigorated by what happened during the Anthony Rizzo homer and the Cubs victory. This is one of those special types of seasons. We have two first place teams that engage you on a nightly basis.”
Tyler McComas is a columnist for BSM and a sports radio talk show host in Norman, OK where he hosts afternoon drive for SportsTalk 1400. You can find him on Twitter @Tyler_McComas or you can email him at TylerMcComas08@yahoo.com.
