On Friday, July 23, 1948, Bill Stern was aboard the S.S. Mauritania on his way to England to broadcast from the London Olympic Games. His radio show, Bill Stern’s Sports Newsreel, needed a substitute host and on this day it was Jimmy Stewart. As mentioned in Jimmy Stewart on the Air, it turns out that Jimmy was a substitute for a substitute. Errol Flynn was originally scheduled to appear on this date, but had to cancel at the last minute.
Here are two newspaper listings for the program. The first, from the Syracuse Herald-Journal, mentions Stewart as a substitute host, while the second, from the Wisconsin State Journal, Madison, WI, gives the listener a hint at what Stewart would be talking about on the show. Unfortunately, this information was incorrect as Jimmy related stories about three Olympic hopefuls – Gil Dodds, Chuck Fonville and Harrison Dillard.
Here’s the entire show for your listening enjoyment.
