Charles Correll and Freeman Gosden were white men who made a career out of playing caricatures of black men, Amos & Andy. In it's day it was the biggest radio show in the country.
The show began in 1926 as "Sam and Henry" on WGN radio, which described it as a "colored comedy serial." Blackface Minstrel shows were the biggest Vaudeville draws, and this was simply a radio version of that already popular comedy form.
By 1927 the radio program had become so popular (inspiring candy bars, short recordings, books and toys) that there was a huge demand well beyond WGN's listening reach. Chicago's NBC station, WMAQ, saw the possibility of distributing the show nationwide and Correll & Gosden leaped at their lucrative offer.
The only problem was that WGN refused to let them take the name Sam & Henry along with them. This was solved pretty easily. The show was renamed Amos & Andy, and within a year it was a nationwide six-night a week hit, airing at 7PM Eastern time. It was rebroadcast on the West Coast in the same time slot; the first show to ever rate that kind of importance.
Chicago was suddenly the center of the American media universe--and became the home to dozens of national hit radio shows. None of them, however, were as popular as the number one show in the country; Amos & Andy.
VIDEO: Amos & Andy radio show
When you hear it now, it's shocking. But in 1928, radio certainly wasn't the only part of American society that treated African-Americans as second class citizens. It would be another 19 years before Jackie Robinson would break the color barrier in baseball, and 25 years before the Chicago Cubs allowed a black man to play for them.
While Amos and Andy were building a powerhouse radio show in Chicago, the Cubs were building a powerhouse lineup. New acquisition KiKi Cuyler, centerfielder Hack Wilson, and Riggs Stephenson formed what is considered by many to be one of the best outfields of all-time. It’s certainly the best the Cubs ever fielded. Stephenson was on-base machine and a great hitter for average. Cuyler was a speedster who stole a league-leading 37 bases in 1928 while leading the team in runs scored. Hack Wilson was pure power. He hit a league-leading 31 homers, knocked in 120, and hit for average too (.313)
The 1928 Cubs also featured the slick fielding team leader Charlie Grimm at first base, the best catcher in baseball (Gabby Hartnett), and .300 hitting Woody English at short. They had pitching too. The four top starters (Malone, Blake, Root & Bush) in 1928 combined for 64 wins.
They charged hard out of the gate that season, and on May 19th won their thirteenth game in a row to bring their record up to 22-12. Despite the great hitting, fielding, pitching, and the best manager in baseball (Joe McCarthy—who would go on to win eight titles with the Yanks), the Cubs just couldn’t put it all together. They ended the year four games behind the even more impressive St. Louis Cardinals.
Behind the hitting of future Cubs manager Frankie Frisch (photo), and the pitching of former Cubs pitcher Grover Cleveland Alexander, the Cardinals won the National League. It wouldn’t really have mattered if the Cubs had won the National League, however. They would have gotten trounced by the murderer’s row New York Yankees just as quickly. The Cardinals were swept in four straight. Gehrig hit four homers, Ruth hit three and the Cardinals weren’t in a single game.
The Cubs kept getting better, making the World Series in 1929, but Amos & Andy became a record-breaking phenomenon. At its peak, cities literally came to a halt while the show was being broadcast. Everyone wanted to hear their favorite two characters and their daily misfortunes. While the peak of their popularity came during the thirties, the series remained on the air for nearly 30 years. No other series ever came close to being as popular.
Surprisingly, despite what is highly controversial content to modern day ears, Amos & Andy wasn't particularly controversial for many years. (Photo: Correll & Gosdin with African-American fans) Defenders claimed it was no different than other ethnic humor, while only a handful of African-American newspapers demanded it be pulled from the network. It wasn't until the show moved to television in the early 50s, that the controversy became too much for Amos & Andy to continue.
