SportsRadio 610 is in the midst of its 30th year on the air in Houston broadcasting in the all-sports format and is celebrating the station throughout Monday with 610 Day. One of the figures who helped the outlet grow in scope and eminence over that time is former host Rich Lord, among the early cohort of voices heard on the station and synonymous with sports in the locale.
Lord formerly hosted in afternoon drive with a variety of colleagues over his 25 years with the station and also served as the sideline reporter for its Houston Texans live game broadcasts. In 2019, Lord was let go from the station as part of lineup changes, after which he expressed his gratitude for the outlet and conveyed that he felt fortunate to have had the role.
As part of 610 Day programming on Monday, Lord joined his former co-host Sean Pendergast in morning drive with Brandon Scott, who was filling in for Seth Payne, for a special guest appearance on the Payne & Pendergast morning show. The program introduced him with “Born to Run” by Bruce Springsteen, one of his favorite artists for many years. While the song did not represent a “deep cut” per se, Lord expressed that he has had somewhat of a falling out with Springsteen after paying over the list price for his last tickets to one of his shows.
Throughout the morning show, Pendergast shared that he and Scott had been receiving several texts from listeners reminiscing about the station and that his name had been coming up considerably. In fact, some people mentioned the early Section 610 days working with former Houston Post columnist Kenny Hand as his co-host.
“In 1995 when I joined the station, all-sports radio was pretty much still in its infancy and not necessarily a proven long-term format for a radio station, so a ‘leap of faith’ is a good way to put it because I felt like I was at KTRH and there was no pressure to leave,” Lord said. “The Rockets had just won a second championship and we were the flagship station, so ‘leap of faith’ is a good way to put it, but without question the best decision I ever made in the business.”
Lord elaborated on the story behind his decision to leave NewsRadio 740 KTRH after six years and join a new station, some of which had to do with former Infinity Broadcasting executive Dickie Rosenfeld. Throughout his time in Houston, Rosenfeld was responsible for several innovations within the media space and helped bring The Beatles to Houston in 1965.
“By the time he came looking for me as someone to work at 610, he was a Houston radio legend,” Lord said of Rosenfeld. “If Dickie Rosenfeld gave you a phone call, you definitely called back and wanted to know what he had to say.”
Lord described his move to SportsRadio 610 as a “leap of faith” and explained that Rosenfeld ultimately convinced him to join the station broadcasting in the all-sports format. Scott was curious to evince Lord’s thoughts about how the station and sports radio business has changed since his time on the air. Preceding his query, Scott articulated that people can watch the show through a variety of different outlets, including YouTube and Twitch.
“I think I can sum it up with one question,” Lord replied. “‘What the hell is Twitch?’”
The studio erupted into laughter before Scott explained that it was a video streaming platform. Lord revealed that he had heard of the outlet but could not say exactly what it was. Even so, he delineated how as a consumer, he has altered the ways in which he listens to SportsRadio 610 amid technological advancements making the medium even more accessible to the audience.
“Honestly guys, when I listen – and I’m sure a lot of people are just like me – it’s not like I jump in my car and throw on the AM radio,” Lord said. “I’m the same way. I’m connecting through the internet and listening that way, so that’s probably the biggest thing because I was a little worried when social media came about and all the podcasts and all the streaming came about.”
Lord explained that a large portion of the listenership when he was hosting came from people on their commutes to and from work. With more people working in hybrid and remote formats following the global pandemic, he acknowledges that the situation has evolved to meet the widespread proclivities within the modern media landscape.
“It almost feels like now there’s almost even great access to the programming than there used to be,” Lord said, “which is encouraging to me for the medium because I know there’s other things going on with regard to radio that are the opposite of that, [which] are discouraging [rather than] encouraging.”
As one of his former co-hosts, Pendergast asked Lord if he had amassed power rankings with the people whom he worked with, to which he replied that he cherished his time with everyone. Josh Innes, who served as Lord’s co-host before Pendergast, left the station in 2013, and while there were moments where their show did not go well, Lord regards him as “the most talented guy” that he ever worked with. Lord and Innes remain friends to this day despite their frequent disputations, none of which were artificial or fabricated.
“It was more fun with some than it was with others, and with Josh at times, it was not fun, but I do look back fondly on our time spent together, and we’ve had some conversations,” Lord said. “I’ve been on his show, and we’re totally good, and like I said, that might disappoint some of the people who remember the show, but we’re totally good. I don’t have any issues with anybody I ever worked with. I feel fortunate to have been in that position.”
