KEGL was the third station to occupy Santa Clara’s 1430 AM frequency, following KGBA and KGNU. The call letters were first heard on July 1, 1969 after Barnes Enterprises acquired the station from Royal Bear Broadcasters, Inc. for $900,000. The buyer was headed by B. E. Barnes, who owned a construction company and had controlling interest in a chain of jewelry stores.
New ownership installed a Country and Western format, while the station continued to broadcast Santa Clara University sports.
Three years later, Barnes sold the station to David Jack’s Pacific Northwest-based Cascade Broadcasting Corp. for $316,000, taking a substantial loss on the original investment. Cascade owned stations in Portland and Spokane as well as KUBA in Yuba City.
By the mid-1970s, KEGL had shifted to Spanish-language programming with a substantial dose of religious programming in the evening hours. The station continued to carry Santa Clara University football games–in English.
The call letters were changed to KNTA in 1976.
