Sherwood Patterson and his Golden Gate Broadcasting Company were an important force in Bay Area radio and TV for several decades. Patterson’s youth in Kansas included time herding cattle on horseback. He remained a fan of Western culture and reportedly owned one of Buffalo Bill’s saddles.
Patterson, who’d operated radio stations in Colorado and Wyoming, arrived in San Francisco in 1937 to manage struggling San Francisco AM station KGGC for the Golden Gate Church. He quickly served notice that he planned to purchase the station and improve it.
Once the deal closed, Patterson had new call letters (KSAN was first heard on the air in September 1938), new studios at the Merchandise Mart on Market Street, a new rooftop antenna array. KSAN carved out a role for itself as an independent broadcaster in an era when San Francisco radio was dominated by network heavyweights.
Patterson would also become a TV station owner, losing out on an attempt to secure the Channel 9 license when it was awarded but getting a license for UHF channel 32. His KSAN-TV carried San Francisco Seals (Pacific Coast League) games in the early 1950s.
In 1960, Patterson’s son Norwood wife, Gloria, assumed control of KSAN radio as a family group.
They sold KSAN in 1964 to well-known Bay Area entertainers Del Courtney and Les Malloy, who changed the call letters to KSOL.