Longtime Detroit radio host Mike Stone has announced that he will be leaving the morning show on 97.1 The Ticket following the conclusion of the Super Bowl, marking the end of an era on Detroit radio. Stone currently hosts the program alongside former Detroit Lions offensive tackle Jon Jansen and radio personality Heather Park. Stone signed on with The Ticket in 2009 and hosted with Rob Parker, Bill McAllister and Jamie Samuelsen before starting the current show. Prior to his time with the outlet, he was one-half of the Stoney and Wojo Show on WDFN with Bob Wojnowski.
“I’m not a young guy anymore,” Stone said Wednesday morning on 97.1 The Ticket. “I’ll be 65 years old at the end of December, and when contracts are up, you have to figure out what you’re going to do with your life; what the company wants to do with the old fart. It was mutually decided that the best for me, and I agree, and probably maybe the best for the station as well, is that I continue to do what I’m doing with you guys through the end of the Super Bowl.”
Stone will be remaining at 97.1 The Ticket as a fill-in host for the next two years, and is also adding a new responsibility as the co-host of the postgame show following Detroit Lions games. He hopes to be in that role for the next three seasons and will be co-hosting alongside FOX 2 sports reporter Jennifer Hammond. No new plan for the morning show was revealed, but Stone is excited for the prospect of ending his regular hosting tenure with the station with a Super Bowl championship.
“There is nothing like an NFL run and nothing like knowing your team has a legitimate chance to get to the Super Bowl,” Stone said. “I don’t know if they do, but I think it could be the start of a yearly thing. Them getting to the Super Bowl in my last year of doing the morning show; it would be unbelievable.”
Stone is a native of Philadelphia, Penn. but came to Detroit, Mich. in the early 1990s and quickly became a fan of the local sports teams. Throughout his time behind the microphone, he has come to appreciate getting to be part of the ups and downs of sports in the “Motor City,” possessing a greater realization as time has gone on.
“I let my life become public and I became part of the sports landscape of Detroit for a really long time, which I don’t think I realized until a few years ago,” Stone said. “I still consider myself just a regular schlub with a microphone.”
When Stone was let go from his prior job with WDFN in 2009, program director Jimmy Powers and Audacy Detroit market manager Debbie Kenyon decided to add him to its on-air talent roster. Within the announcement, he made sure to thank everyone associated with the show and the station throughout its various departments.
“In this business of corporate radio B.S. that goes on in every company – and not just radio – allowing me to keep my career going where in other places when the contract was up, they’d say, ‘Oh, you’re old. You’re just a line item. Goodbye,'” he said, referring to Powers and Kenyon. “I thank you both a lot for letting me do that.”
Stone began to get emotional as the announcement neared its conclusion, but stressed to the listeners that the show will be the same until his final day as part of the regular on-air lineup. Additionally, he pledged that he will be the best fill-in host possible as he takes a step back from working in radio in the regular morning slot.
“It’s been great, and I’m not going away as you know,” Stone said. “When whoever who comes in here is on vacation, I’ll be back working with you, giving you crap, begging you to let me speak and doing all that stuff. I’ll be around, and what I’ll be is Vinnie Johnson; Lou Williams — sixth man. I’ll be the utility guy.”
