From the mid-1940s to the mid-1970s, thousands of aspiring radio broadcasters studied for the challenging Federal Communications Commission’s First Class Radiotelephone Operator License (colloquially known as the “First Phone” or “First Ticket”) at the privately-run William B. Ogden Radio Operational Engineering School.
Originally located in Burbank, CA and later in Huntington Beach, CA, “Ogden’s” was known as a place where the staggering amount of information needed to pass the FCC exam could be crammed into a student’s head with a reasonable chance of passing the test.
In that era, a “first ticket” was a ticket to a job–not just for aspiring broadcast engineers but for announcers as well, because small and medium-market radio stations that didn’t employ a transmitter engineer needed somebody on staff with the requisite license. Thus, even if a disc jockey’s on-air skills were modest, that FCC license practically guaranteed employment.
This remarkable photograph shows the Ogden class of August 1966. Three men who would be inducted into the Bay Area Radio Hall of Fame years later studied together at Ogden’s and would drive together to the FCC office in Los Angeles to pass their First Phone exams on the same day. See the caption for their identities.
Regarding those three future BARHOF inductees: John McLeod would spend more than 50 years in numerous roles at San Jose’s KLIV and other stations owned by Empire Broadcasting. Bobby Ocean would become a Top 40 and voice-over legend, counting numerous stays at San Francisco’s legendary KFRC. Phil Lerza actually used the engineering knowledge crammed into him at Ogden’s as a beloved engineer at KFRC.
It’s quite likely that other Bay Area radio veterans and BARHOF inductees can be added to the “Ogden Alumni Association”. Please use the “Comments” area to chime in.
For further reading on the Ogden School, we heartily recommend the exhibits created by the Modesto Radio Museum.