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WJY was a temporary longwave radio station, located in Hoboken, New Jersey and operated by the Radio Corporation of America (RCA), which was used on July 2, 1921, for a ringside broadcast of the Dempsey-Carpentier heavyweight boxing match.

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54-525: WJY may refer to: WJY (Hoboken, New Jersey) , a temporary radio station used to broadcast the July 2, 1921 Dempsey-Carpentier heavyweight boxing match WJY (New York City) , a radio station licensed to the Radio Corporation of America from 1923 to 1927 Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with

108-653: A light heavyweight and heavyweight in a career lasting from 1908 to 1926. A French professional champion on several occasions, he became the European heavyweight champion before the First World War. A sergeant aviator during the Great War , he was wounded before returning to civilian life. He then discovered rugby union , playing as a winger. On his return to the ring in 1919, "le grand Georges" ("the great Georges" in English) he

162-523: A chic Paris neighbourhood. In several different locations, this is the profession he would exercise until shortly before his death. From the time they boxed together in 1921, Carpentier remained close friends with Jack Dempsey. They visited each other in New York and Paris, got together to commemorate the anniversary of their famous bout and exchanged birthday greetings. Carpentier died in Paris at age 81 in 1975 of

216-546: A few months, when RCA decided to join forces with Westinghouse in operating Westinghouse's station in Newark, WJZ . (Some later reviews reported that the WJY transmitter was transferred to be used by WDY, but contemporary reports stated that WDY's transmitter, which was one-third the power of WJY's, had been separately constructed). On May 15, 1923, the WJY call letters were revived and assigned to

270-553: A local announcer. These broadcasts were a cooperative effort, designed to raise money for the American Committee for Devastated France and the Navy Club. This also marked RCA's entrance into the radio broadcasting field, which the company would dominate in the U.S. for the next half century. Although the general facts about WJY's Dempsey-Carpentier broadcast are well documented, significant discrepancies exist for certain details in

324-468: A new RCA station located in New York City, which survived until mid-1927. With the rapid increase in broadcasting that began in the U.S. in 1922, J. Andrew White became famous as a sports announcer, specializing in boxing matches, and in a 1924 biographical review he was described as "the most famous announcer in radio". In 1927, he became one of the founders, and briefly served as the first president, of

378-469: A number of other companies, RCA soon began to establish a permanent presence. Initially there was talk about introducing a regular broadcast service over WJY at Hoboken. However, RCA decided instead to construct a new station, WDY , at General Electric's Aldene plant in Roselle Park, New Jersey. J. O. Smith and J. Andrew White were the principle operators of WDY, although the station was shut down after just

432-456: A plan to broadcast the upcoming "Battle of the Century" heavyweight championship fight between Jack Dempsey and Georges Carpentier . He approached Madison Square Garden owner and fight promoter G. L. "Tex" Rickard and Rickard's associate Frank E. Coultry, and received permission to work out the details. Broadcasting radiophone reports in this manner for the first time in history, [makes] possible

486-449: A telephone connection made to the radio transmitter. The solution was to have a "Mr. Sheehey of the Broad street office" type White's telephoned descriptions as they were received at the transmitter site, with the transcripts then given to J. O. Smith for reading over the air. To increase verisimilitude, a spare gong was placed near the transmitter, which was sounded in order to mimic the one at

540-453: A total of fifty-eight admission sites. The fight took place in Jersey City, New Jersey, where Rickard arranged for the construction of an outdoor arena accommodating 90,000 persons at Boyle's Thirty Acres . The initial proposal was to set up a radio transmitter and construct an antenna at ringside, but this proved to be impractical due to cost and logistical considerations. An alternate plan

594-533: The "White Heavyweight Champion of the World" to his European title. The white heavyweight title bout sported a purse worth £9,000 (equivalent to approximately £1,090,981 today ). Carpentier was also a referee during the early stages of his career, supervising a number of fights including the world title bout between Jack Johnson and Frank Moran in June 1914. Carpentier was a French Air Force aviator during World War I and

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648-541: The Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) radio network. White's later recounting of the WJY broadcast tended to expand his role at the expense of others, sometimes contradicting his own earlier statements. Beginning in 1924 he made no mention of Julius Hopp coming up with the plan for the Dempsey-Carpentier broadcast, instead saying the idea had originated with him. In 1955, he additionally claimed that it

702-529: The Madison Square Garden arena in New York City was conducted as a benefit for the American Committee for Devastated France , working with philanthropist Anne Morgan , who was chair of that charity's executive committee. Julius Hopp, manager of Madison Square Garden concerts, who helped coordinate the charity match, was on the lookout for additional opportunities. In March 1921 he was reportedly introduced to radio broadcasting, after being "impressed with

756-689: The Brown Owl: A Story of the Boxing Ring published c. 1920 by Cassell and Company (being a volume in the uniform Cassell's Empire Library). He also appeared in half a dozen motion pictures , starring in both silent films and talkies . He made three films in Hollywood , US, one for director J. Stuart Blackton in England and two in his native France. His last screen appearance was in 1934. Soon after, he became proprietor of an upmarket bar, Chez Georges Carpentier , in

810-641: The Music Box dream." (Since at least 1916, Sarnoff had been promoting home entertainment by radio using an appliance he called the "radio music box".) And in fact RCA would go on to dominate radio broadcasting in the United States, selling millions of radio receivers, in addition to developing the National Broadcasting Company (NBC) radio networks. Following the success of the WJY fight broadcast, and with broadcasting stations beginning to be set up by

864-724: The Pittsburgh district and assigned to the Westinghouse Company" These sites, which included Forbes Field , received reports broadcast by the Westinghouse Electric & Manufacturing Co. station, KDKA , which had received telegraphed summaries sent by engineers who were monitoring WJY at the Westinghouse facility in Newark, New Jersey. Seeing an opportunity for future growth, in his July 1921 report J. Andrew White suggested that "the Radio Corporation interests can dominate

918-519: The Sacramento Radio Club, used U.S. Army Signal Corps equipment to announce from ringside a series of boxing matches taking place at Mather Field . The following September, the Detroit News employed its "Detroit News Radiophone" station, 8MK , to broadcast summaries telegraphed from nearby Benton Harbor, Michigan, as Jack Dempsey made short work of Billy Minske, knocking out his opponent in

972-698: The Second World War, in which he took part in the French Air Force , Carpentier died of a heart attack in 1975. A decade after his death, the Parisian Sports Arena in the 13th arrondissement of Paris was renamed Halle Georges-Carpentier after him. Along with Marcel Cerdan , he remains one of France's best boxers. Born in Liévin in Pas-de-Calais , Carpentier began his career by progressing up through

1026-540: The U.S. Navy by RCA's parent company, General Electric . He arranged for White to meet with the former assistant Secretary of the Navy (and future president) Franklin D. Roosevelt , to get permission to use this transmitter for the proposed broadcast. Roosevelt was the president of The Navy Club, and one of the conditions for approval was that his organization share, along with the American Committee for Devastated France, in

1080-484: The amateur field". However, compared with the burgeoning home consumer sales that began within the year, the amateur radio market would be a niche of limited interest to RCA, and NAWA was disbanded a few years later. David Sarnoff foresaw a much greater potential. In a cover letter for the distribution of the White report, he noted that "It indicates the possibilities of radio devices for receiving broadcasted news and falls under

1134-508: The bout by TKO after fifteen rounds. He retired from the ring after a final exhibition bout in 1927. Following his retirement from boxing, Carpentier spent a number of years as a vaudeville song-and-dance man, mostly in the UK and the US. As a singer he cut two sides on a gramophone record in 1927 for Pathé, in the style of French singer Maurice Chevalier . He is the author of a boxing novel, Brothers of

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1188-426: The champion, Dempsey, knocked out Carpentier in the fourth round. Overall the broadcast was considered a major success, with the transmission achieving its goal of a high-quality signal that in some cases exceeded the anticipated 200 mile range. Estimates of the total audience size, perhaps generous, ranged from 200,000 to 500,000 listeners, enough to easily qualify as the largest radio audience to date. In addition to

1242-434: The charitable receipts. White arranged for a tug to deliver the transmitter from Schenectady. On June 10, a circular soliciting volunteers from the ranks of amateur radio enthusiasts was mailed to 7,500 NAWA members. A formal application blank included with the circular was used by Smith to vet the responses and determine which individuals were qualified to assist. In addition to being acting president of NAWA, J. Andrew White

1296-576: The charity. However, he needed extensive technical assistance in order to set up the transmission and reception sites. Canvasing for individuals with radio expertise, he contacted the head of the American Radio Relay League , Hiram Percy Maxim , who dismissed the idea as impractical. Hopp then approached the National Amateur Wireless Association (NAWA), an organization headquartered at 326 Broadway in New York City, that

1350-525: The decline of his career, punctuated by the controversial loss of his titles to Battling Siki . Nicknamed the "Orchid Man", he stood 5 feet 11 + 1 ⁄ 2  inches (182 cm) and his fighting weight ranged from 147 to 175 pounds (67 to 79 kg). Later notable performances included a defeat by Gene Tunney . Carpentier ended his career in 1926, but remained a leading figure in French boxing . Appointed ambassador for French sport abroad after

1404-430: The fall of 1922, he filed a lawsuit against RCA, J. Andrew White, Tex Rickard and Frank Coultry, claiming he had been "defrauded out of the results of his work". In 1927, he filed another lawsuit, again naming Rickard, Coultry and White, that attempted to enjoin them from broadcasting boxing matches from Madison Square Garden, asserting that he was "the first person to perfect and utilize wireless telephone and telegraph for

1458-407: The listening sites established by the American Committee for Devastated France and the Navy Club, some additional locations had been independently set up by radio amateurs. J. Andrew White reported receiving hundreds of congratulatory letters at his Wireless Press office, which included "approximately $ 550" in contributions, in addition to an unknown total of admission fees collected by the charities at

1512-421: The original plan. However, when his authorized biography was published in 1966, it was now Sarnoff who was credited with originating the idea, and it is also implied that it was his idea to link the broadcast to the two charities. In view of his prominence, Sarnoff's version of events has often been the one used by historical reviews. Julius Hopp would become estranged from his former partners and embittered. In

1566-406: The participating theaters and auditoriums. (One of David Sarnoff's biographers reported that "Miss Morgan's charity reaped its greatest single windfall". However, RCA historian George H. Clark concluded that although the broadcast was a technical success, "financially it benefited the club organizations in name only".) Wireless Age mentioned in passing that there were "six theatres arranged for in

1620-511: The recollections of individual participants. In 1920, radio broadcasting in the United States, which before World War I had been limited to a few scattered experimental efforts, was just starting to develop, although there were still very few homes with radio receivers, and most listening was done by amateur radio enthusiasts. Looking for interesting programming, station operators began adding sports events, including boxing matches. In January 1920, Lieutenant Herbert E. Metcalf, in conjunction with

1674-447: The ring that signalled the opening and closing of each round. The day of the broadcast was hot and humid, with morning showers. White, his assistant Harry Welker, and David Sarnoff were positioned at ringside next to the press box. White, who had been an amateur boxer, provided most if not all of the descriptions, although some accounts state that Sarnoff also participated in the announcing. The radio reports were timed so that each round

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1728-489: The second Radio Inspection district, arranged for a temporary radio station authorization, to be operated by RCA, and issued the random call letters of WJY. In order to provide the best possible coverage, the plan was to transmit on a longwave wavelength, 1600 meters (187 kHz), that was normally used by the U.S. government. Commander D. C. Patterson, District Communication Officer, approved this use of 1600 meters and helped insure that government stations would not interfere at

1782-531: The second minute of the fourth round and never fought again for that title. He lost his world light heavyweight title and his European heavyweight and light heavyweight titles the following year, on 24 September 1922, in a controversial bout with Senegalese fighter Battling Siki . His last truly noteworthy fight was on 24 July 1924, with Gene Tunney at the Polo Grounds in Manhattan , New York City. Carpentier lost

1836-519: The signals were readily audible, and reaching the intended coverage area radius of 200 miles (320 kilometers). The original broadcast plan was to have J. Andrew White's ringside commentary carried directly over the air, via a telephone line that had been installed running from ringside to the Hoboken transmitter room. However, the American Telephone and Telegraph Company (AT&T) objected to having

1890-606: The skill of New York amateur radio men as disclosed at the Second District Convention", which was held at the Hotel Pennsylvania in New York City. One feature of this convention was that "music sent from the Bedloe Island Signal Corps Station [WVP] via radiofone was heard almost continuously". Hopp came up with the idea of combining radio broadcasting with charity work, and began to develop

1944-417: The successful accomplishment of the following objects:     Promotion of amity between the nations represented in the greatest international sporting event on record.     The scientific triumph of simultaneous transmission of the human voice without the aid of wires to audiences in many cities.     The contribution of financial and material aid in

1998-503: The task of rehabilitating the war-torn and devastated regions of France.     Aiding establishment and maintenance of a home, hotel and club for enlisted men of the United States Navy and Marine Corps. Hopp's overall plan was to raise funds for the American Committee for Devastated France, by recruiting listening locations at selected theaters and halls, which would charge an admission fee that would be donated to

2052-412: The task, had primary responsibility for installing and testing the transmitter. The end of a hallway, in a railroad yard building primarily used by Pullman porters, was set aside as a transmitter location, and a large flat-top "T-type" antenna 250 feet (76 meters) high and spanning 450 feet (140 meters) was strung between the existing tower and the railroad station's clock tower. It had been announced that

2106-466: The third round. And on April 11, 1921, Westinghouse's broadcasting station KDKA in East Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, carried ringside reports by Florent Gibson of a Johnny Ray vs. Johnny Dundee 10 round no-decision match. Meanwhile, fight promoters were looking for ways to improve the image of their sport and increase its popularity. In January 1921, a bout between Benny Leonard and Richie Mitchell at

2160-521: The time of the scheduled broadcast. One of the prime participants would be J. O. Smith, who had recently become director of the correspondence division of RCA's Radio Institute of America, and was well known in the amateur radio field through his Special Amateur station 2ZL, located in Valley Stream, New York. Smith determined that a high-powered transmitter was being built in Schenectady, New York for

2214-569: The title WJY . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=WJY&oldid=758666708 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages WJY (Hoboken, New Jersey) The fight details were also telegraphed to station KDKA in East Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and broadcast from there by

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2268-410: The transmission and broadcasting of sports, news, music, addresses, and news" and demanding an accounting of all profits since July 2, 1921. In December 1935, he sent a letter to David Sarnoff, now president of RCA, that asked for aid due to financial setbacks and illness. Seemingly unaware of the existence of a series of earlier radio broadcasts that had even included boxing matches, Hopp claimed that "I

2322-414: The transmission and recruit volunteers to staff receiving sites. Next approached was RCA's then-General Manager David Sarnoff , who White knew had been keenly interested in the possibilities of radio broadcasting. Sarnoff financed the project by surreptitiously withdrawing $ 1,500 from an account holding funds accumulated from equipment rental. Arthur Batcheller , the government's Chief Radio Inspector for

2376-702: The transmitter used for broadcasting would be rated at 3½ kilowatts, producing an antenna current of 20 to 25 amperes, however, the actual transmitter ratings would be somewhat less. The set consisted of six 250-watt Radiotron tubes. All six tubes, totaling 1½ kilowatts, were used for radiotelegraph (CW) work. For audio transmissions, three of the tubes were used to modulate the signal, which produced currents between 14 and 16 amperes. Test transmissions began on Friday evening, June 24, with successively greater powers used until preparations were completed on July 1. Hundreds of reception reports received from amateur radio operators monitoring WJY's performance provided reassurance that

2430-748: The weight divisions, fighting in every division from welterweight upwards. After making his first professional bout at age 14, he was welterweight champion of France and of Europe in 1911, middleweight champion of Europe in 1912, and light heavyweight champion of Europe in 1913. On 1 June 1913, he beat "Bombardier" Billy Wells in Ghent, Belgium to become heavyweight champion of Europe. He defended his title in December against Wells, in January 1914 against Pat O'Keeffe and in London on 16 July he beat Ed "Gunboat" Smith to add

2484-454: The world. The fight took place on 12 October 1920, in Jersey City and Levinsky was knocked out in the fourth. Carpentier's attempt at the heavyweight Championship of the world came on 2 July 1921 , again in Jersey City, when he faced Jack Dempsey in front of boxing's first million dollar gate (approximately $ 17,000,000 today). Carpentier was badly beaten around before suffering a knockout in

2538-615: Was awarded two of the highest French military honors, the Croix de Guerre and the Médaille Militaire . This served to heighten his already exceptional popularity, not only in France but also in the United Kingdom and the United States. Carpentier defended his title twice again in 1919 before dropping down a weight class to challenge Battling Levinsky for the light heavyweight championship of

2592-460: Was celebrated as a symbol of a sporting powerhouse France, via performances in Great Britain and the United States of America. His knockout victory over Battling Levinsky on 12 October 1920 in Jersey City in the United States earned him the title of world champion. A defeat by Jack Dempsey the following year nevertheless strengthened his legend and brought him worldwide fame. This defeat marked

2646-425: Was described during a three-minute period, with a one-minute interval between rounds. It was estimated that the bulletins were broadcast within a minute after they had been received at the Hoboken site. WJY was on the air for a total of about four hours. The programming opened with a series of preliminary bouts, which were conducted at half-hour intervals, and concluded with the Dempsey-Carpentier fight, which ended when

2700-464: Was developed after it was determined that there was an unused radio tower 2 + 1 ⁄ 2 miles (4.0 kilometers) from the arena, located at the Lackawanna train station in adjacent Hoboken, which was left over from earlier train communication tests. George W. Hayes was responsible for the general supervision of the installation at Hoboken, while W. J. Purcell, a General Electric employee detailed for

2754-501: Was his voice, not J. O. Smith's, that listeners heard, stating that a device had been rigged up to carry the sound of his voice from the telephone receiver in Hoboken to the transmitter microphone. David Sarnoff went on to a stellar career, becoming RCA's president in 1930. His later accounts would also develop significant differences from the contemporary reports. In a 1926 industry overview, Sarnoff also omitted any references to Julius Hopp, and credited J. Andrew White with coming up with

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2808-580: Was originally formed under the auspices of the Marconi Wireless Telegraph Company of America , and which became affiliated with the Radio Corporation of America when that company was created in 1919 to take over the American Marconi assets. The acting president of NAWA, J. Andrew White ( Guglielmo Marconi was the nominal president) was immediately interested, and set out to use his extensive industry and amateur radio contacts to organize

2862-476: Was the editor of RCA's Wireless Age magazine, and the preparations, which included installing aerials and receivers capable of loudspeaker operation, were publicized in its pages. Julius Hopp, representing the American Committee for Devastated France and the Navy Club, reported that eleven halls, theaters and auditoriums had been secured within greater New York, in addition to forty-seven cities spanning from Massachusetts to Maryland, and westward to Pennsylvania, for

2916-431: Was the originator of the project which has become the world's greatest industry and cultural force, radio broadcasting of news, music, lectures, etc." Georges Carpentier Georges Carpentier ( French pronunciation: [ʒɔʁʒ kaʁpɑ̃tje] ; 12 January 1894 – 28 October 1975) was a French boxer , actor and World War I pilot. A precocious pugilist, Carpentier fought in numerous categories. He fought mainly as

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