Engelhardt Celebrates 25 Years In Winslow

Engelhardt moved his wife, Pat, and his two children, Loy Lynn and Ashley, to Winslow, Ariz. in 1977 to take over KINO Radio, the town’s local station.

Engelhardt remembered what he called the “wildest” night in his career. “It was 1978 and we had just came to Winslow. Both basketball teams had qualified for the State Tournament. The boy’s were playing at ASU. We covered they boy’s championship game, which they won. We broke down the equipment, loaded it and drove across town just in time to broadcast the girl’s championship game at Mesa Community College. They won, too. So that was pretty exciting,” he recalled.

Another exciting time he remembers was a game in Window Rock, where the gym was so crowded he had to broadcast the game standing on the back of the chair with the Winslow

Mail’s sports reporter bracing the chair and holding equipment.

KINO Radio’s “claim to fame” is its coverage of area high school sports. Engelhardt is

seen at every Winslow football, basketball and baseball game he can make. He attributes his ability to broadcast these school’s games to the area districts’ willingness to cooperate with him. In order to broadcast a game, he has to have phone access. He said in one situation, he laid out over 1,000 feet of telephone wire to broadcast a game. He also remembered a time when he sat on the top of Cottonwood’s High School, which was directly behind center field at their baseball complex so that he could reach the nearest telephone jack.

He says the thing that amazes him about his career is the opportunity he’s had to work

with great coaches. “Winslow has been very lucky when it comes to coaches staying

around. Look at [Emil] Nassar. He’s a legend, just an unforgettable character. And [Don]

Petranovich, and [Art] Griffith, and Ron Bellman. It’s unbelievable what this school has

had in the way of coaches,” he said.

Over the years, Engelhardt has received several awards, including a recent proclamation from the Winslow City Council for his 25 years of service. “It was pretty humbling and it is greatly appreciated, but we’re just doing what we do the best we can,” he concluded.