Jack
Harris
Without a doubt, Jack Harris is the most popular
and most recognized media personality in Tampa Bay. Currently
he co-hosts WFLA A.M. Tampa Bay, often the highest rated morning
show in the market; but it didn't happen overnight, we'll let
Jack fill you in:
I was born and reared (if you'll pardon the
expression) in a small town in West (By God!) Virginia. How small
was it? The 7-11 closed at 5pm. There was only one massage parlor,
and it was self-serve. The sewage treatment plant was a two-holer
with a moon on the door. I graduated Valedictorian at Logan High
School (with a D+ average), attended Davidson College in North
Carolina (where I made straight A's... the rest of my letters
were a little crooked) and was graduated from West Virginia University
with a B.A. in History (minored in sex education... people kept
stealing the visual aids).
Later, I spent two years as an officer in
the U.S. Army, (originally, to avoid the draft, I left the country.
I couldn't afford the cost of living in Canada, so I moved to
South Vietnam) during which time I served in Vietnam. (I was
cited for once throwing myself on a plate of warm chipped beef
on toast... didn't get a purple heart, but later came down with
an inflamed liver).
My radio career began just out of high school
in Logan at WVOW (they were looking for a newscaster with a high
squeaky voice). Spent a decade minus service time at WAJR in
Morgantown, W. Va., and came to the sunny Tampa Bay Area in 1970.
I left for a year in 1974 to serve my country at WRC and WKYS
in Washington, D.C. (I stayed at The Watergate Hotel the first
weekend... no key to my room, we just broke in). I was on the
original broadcast team for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (I did the
locker room shows when they were 0 and 26 it was like having
to go to the Republican locker room after The '96 Presidential
Election), was with The Tampa Bay Bandits (skoal stains all over
my microphone), was voice of the USF Basketball Program (I knew
they were in trouble when they recruited a center named "Shorty")
and the Tampa Bay Rowdies (strange sport used their feet instead
of their hands which made it painful when they scratched their
crotches).
I also had some Television experience as the
voice of The Jerry Lewis Telethon for eight years (Jack's Kids),
Gasparilla and Festival of States Parade Coverage (I loathe a
parade), The Buccaneer Coach's Show for five years (I asked Coach
John McKay about the team's execution after a particular game,
and he replied, "I think executing them is a good idea")
and the Noon Show, Pulse Plus on Channel 13 for nearly six years,
and am now the Host of "Harris Live" at weekdays on
WFLA-TV, Channel 8 (is going from 13 to 8 a move up or a move
down?). Basically, I'm a radio person. I have a better face for
it, although some folks say I have a voice for newspaper. Just
ask my wife, Joy and my son, Jackson. |