Bob Collins
He was born Harold Wallace Lee but everybody called him Buddy. His radio career began at the young age of 13 running errands for WYSE, a small Lakeland daytimer with studios on the second floor of a downtown retail store overlooking Munn Park. At the age of 14 the station gave him his own radio show.
After graduating from Lakeland High School in 1960, Buddy’s first job outside his hometown was WPLA in Plant City. It was his first stop on a planned journey to work his way through college as a disc jockey. In 1963 and 1964 he worked part-time at WWAB (formerly WYSE) in Lakeland while also working full-time at Cypress Gardens as a ski show announcer. It was at WWAB that he picked up a new moniker – “Bob Collins” – a name that would stay with him for the rest of his career.
By 1965, he was at WGTO, the 50,000 watt station which had studios just outside the main entrance to Cypress Gardens. Later that same year, Bob moved to WINQ in Tampa to do morning drive. From there it was to the market’s top rocker, WALT, in 1966. After graduating from college with a degree in Journalism and a very brief stopover at WLCY in 1967, Bob moved to WOKY in Milwaukee. Two years later he was at KFI in Los Angeles, and a year after that in San Diego at KCBQ. Bob returned to Milwaukee to work at WRIT in 1971, and then it was back to the Sunshine State and WMYQ in Miami.
Bob joined WGN in Chicago in 1974 to work afternoons but later switched shifts with morning man Wally Phillips. He eventually dominated Chicago’s ARB’s, maintaining a #1 ranking in both afternoon and morning drive. In 1984, Billboard magazine named Bob Personality of the Year, and in 1987, a local poll chose him as Chicago’s Favorite Morning Radio Personality.
An avid pilot, Bob’s career was cut short when he died in a mid-air plane collision in February 2000.
Station History
1965 - 1965 WGTO-AM 540 (On Air Personality)
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