{"id":31308,"date":"2023-08-02T09:25:31","date_gmt":"2023-08-02T15:25:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/al-ba.com\/wp2\/?page_id=31308"},"modified":"2023-08-28T10:09:27","modified_gmt":"2023-08-28T16:09:27","slug":"randy-patrick","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/al-ba.com\/wp2\/randy-patrick\/","title":{"rendered":"Randy Patrick"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Isn\u2019t it interesting how one decision can change the future in a big way? For instance, if Randy Patrick hadn\u2019t dropped his high school art class to take a broadcasting course, he might be receiving an award from a prestigious arts institution today. Instead, broadcasting \u201ctook\u201d and led to a 40+ year career filled with outstanding accomplishments in both radio and television. To honor his passion, dedication and giving attitude through these many years, the ABA is gratified to induct Randy Patrick into the Alabama Broadcasters Association Hall of Fame.<\/p>\n

\u201cAbout a week into my sophomore art class, they let us know that then didn\u2019t have enough juniors and seniors to fill the TV production class, so I jumped into that class out of art,\u201d smiles Patrick. \u201cYeah, my parents weren\u2019t pleased after spending all the money on those art supplies, but it was kind of destiny \u2026 it just led me down the path.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Patrick decided he didn\u2019t need to go to college; he was already working fulltime at WKRG radio in Mobile. \u201cThose were the days where you grabbed every opportunity,\u201d he says. \u201cI was a snotty-nosed 24 or 25-year-old kid doing afternoon drive, a three-to-four-hour talk show every day, interviewing famous people and taking calls and just having a lot of fun.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThen I started doing play by play, doing senior bowls and state championships and numerous other things,\u201d says Patrick. \u201cI\u2019ve always had the gift of gab and I like to entertain.\u201d<\/p>\n

Patrick moved into TV In 1992. \u201cI became a sports caster full time at WKRG,\u201d Patrick says. \u201cI\"\" was the pinch hitter for the morning sports guy and when the weekend shift opened up, they put me in that slot. And when the sports director left, I ended up with that job.\u201d<\/p>\n

The television awards began to rack up. Patrick was named Southern League Sportscaster of the Year in 1998. He received the Mobile Press Club\u2019s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2005 and was inducted into the Mobile Sports Hall of Fame in 2018.<\/p>\n

\u201cI guess I\u2019m most proud of the Mobile Sports Hall of Fame because Mobile is such a unique sports city,\u201d says Patrick. \u201cI was in there with names like Hank Aaron, Willie McCovey, Billy Williams, Satchel Page, Ozzie Smith, Kenny Stabler \u2026 they\u2019re all just awesome.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe ABA is up there with that one as well. When I look at some of the folks that are in the Hall of Fame, especially from South Alabama, wow, just to be mentioned in a sentence with their names is unbelievable. It\u2019s a dream come true.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJust to have that kind of run, not only in one market, but at one TV station in today\u2019s broadcast landscape \u2026 to have that longevity is becoming more and more rare,\u201d says Peter Albrecht, WKRG anchor. \u201cThat just allows you to connect with the viewers in a deeper way than somebody who might be popping in for a couple of years and then moving on somewhere else.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"\u201cYou have to have a passion for sports to do the kind of job that he did for so many years,\u201d Albrecht continues.  \u201cAnd I think one thing that helped Randy resonate with a lot of viewers is he went beyond the traditional football, basketball, baseball stuff. Randy really covered sports like golf, auto racing, hunting, and fishing. He gave those sports probably more than their fair share of time, and I think it was appreciated too by some areas that get slighted in terms of media attention.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI try to build people up, not tear them down,\u201d says Patrick.  \u201cI look at it almost as a ministry, you know?  People are tired by the time the sports comes around after the bad news and once the weather’s done. They want to hear something good, right? It\u2019s not just football, baseball,<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

 and basketball. I take pride in telling all the stories.\u201d<\/p>\n

Patrick retired in January of this year, but he\u2019s hardly had time to catch his breath. \u201cI’m spending time babysitting! My second grandson, believe it or not,\u201d he laughs. \u201cI have him for four days a week, eight hours a day\u2026 you know, you just don’t realize how much you missed, how much family stuff and sacrifices because of these shifts I had for 31 years. So, I\u2019m loving every minute of this.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Isn\u2019t it interesting how one decision can change the future in a big way? For instance, if Randy Patrick hadn\u2019t dropped his high school art class to take a broadcasting course, he might be receiving an award from a prestigious arts institution today. Instead, broadcasting \u201ctook\u201d and led to a 40+ year career filled with … Continue reading Randy Patrick<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-31308","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/al-ba.com\/wp2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/31308","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/al-ba.com\/wp2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/al-ba.com\/wp2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/al-ba.com\/wp2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/al-ba.com\/wp2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31308"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/al-ba.com\/wp2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/31308\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":31438,"href":"https:\/\/al-ba.com\/wp2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/31308\/revisions\/31438"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/al-ba.com\/wp2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31308"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}