Bob Umbach, WMBM

Bob Umbach, WMBM

Box 2 Folder 48: "This is folder 48. This is a promo picture of Bob Umbach which was sent to me I believe by his daughter but I’m not sure. This is when he was at WMBM, this is not at WJLD. This would have been around ‘53 and here he is pouring some milk into, I don’t know what. He’s got a table full of 78s in front of him. Bob Umbach had the Atomic Boogie Hour for 7 years at WJLD. He was a very popular jock, Caucasian, who spent a lot of time in the black community, a lot of time at the Madison Night Spot. Eventually passed away in the mountains of North Carolina, in Asheville, so I’m told. Striking man who we had once been told that Jane Russell had a crush on him and came to visit him. We heard that from a couple of people. I won’t name them cause I’m not sure. You’ll have to contact Jane Russell’s evangelical church to find out. By many of his contemporaries and those that came afterwards, considered the first "race" jock in Birmingham."