Dave McKinsey worked for KABL for 30 years in three tours of duty, rising from copy writer to program director.
Fellow BARHOF inductee Al Hart, who worked with McKinsey at KABL, described him as “one of the most creative and inventive people I’ve ever known.” McKinsey came up with the idea for San Francisco’s cable car bell ringing contest, which continues to this day. He also was a driving force behind KABL’s Saint Patrick’s Day Snake Race, which drew crowds to San Francisco’s Crown Zellerbach Plaza for many years in the1960s and 1970s.
Under McKinsey’s guidance, KABL enjoyed a long run of ratings success and in 1989, won the National Association of Broadcasters’ prestigious Marconi Award for “Station Of The Year” in the category “EZ Listening/Beautiful Music.”
McKinsey was born in Joplin, MO and served in the Navy during World War II, stationed on a minesweeper. After the war, he enrolled in Southern Methodist University in Dallas and graduated with a degree in liberal arts.
Dave McKinsey died in 2003 at age 75.