Angelo Cataldi

Angelo Anthony Cataldi Jr. (born March 13, 1951) is an American retired sports radio personality for 94.1 WIP in Philadelphia.

Cataldi began his career as a sports journalist for The Philadelphia Inquirer.

Cataldi was born in Providence, Rhode Island on March 13, 1951.

He grew up a fan of the New York Yankees.

Cataldi graduated from the University of Rhode Island in 1972 with a bachelor's degree in journalism and Columbia University in 1977 with a master's degree in journalism.

Cataldi began his career in 1975 as the news editor for the Narragansett Times.

He joined his hometown paper the Providence Journal as their general assignments reporter in 1977.

Cataldi is one of only two journalists to have covered the longest professional baseball game, between the Pawtucket Red Sox and the Rochester Red Wings in 1981.

Cataldi moved to Philadelphia in 1983 after receiving an offer to be a sports journalist for The Philadelphia Inquirer.

During his time at The Inquirer, Cataldi was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for his coverage of the 1986 Eagles and their new head coach Buddy Ryan.

Cataldi's coverage of the 1986 season revealed that Ryan failed to fulfill many of the promises he had made prior to the season - such as guaranteeing the Eagles would go undefeated against other teams in the NFC East.

Following the article being published, Ryan seldom called on Cataldi to answer his questions during press conferences.

At The Inquirer he wrote investigation pieces on fixed horse races and corruption in the sports memorabilia industry.

Cataldi wrote a story about how doctor's medical evaluations are undermined by working for sports team, but the story's lede was heavily changed without his permission.

This decision by The Inquirer contributed to his decision to move to sports radio.

Cataldi had a job offer to be a writer for The Los Angeles Times, but he opted to join WIP because the pay was better.

Cataldi's first work on radio came in 1988 as a part-time weekday host during the station's 9:00 AM to 10:00 AM hours.

At first, Cataldi provided just sports analysis, but his producer told him "stop pontificating and start entertaining. This is not journalism."

In 1988, Cataldi joined WIP's morning show with Tom Brookshier.

The show was initially titled Brookie and the Rookie before later being renamed Brookshire and Cataldi.

From 1989 until 2023 he hosted The WIP Morning Show.

During Cataldi's tenure the show became one of the most popular shows in Philadelphia radio history.

Philadelphia Magazine describes Cataldi as having "done more than anyone to shape how we talk about — and even think about — sports" in Philadelphia.

In 1992, Cataldi organized an event known as "Honk for Herschel" encouraging Eagles fans to gather at Veterans Stadium and honk their car in support of signing free agent running back Herschel Walker.

Cataldi became the host of the WIP Morning Show in 1993 along with Al Morganti.

The show was an instant hit and dominated particularly in ratings among men aged 25 to 54.

In 1993, the WIP Morning Show founded the Wing Bowl, an annual eating contest, held on the Friday before the Super Bowl, because the Eagles were historically almost never in the game.

Rhea Hughes joined as another co-host in 1997 and Keith Jones joined as a co-host in 2002.

In April 1999, Cataldi, along with then-Philadelphia Mayor Ed Rendell, organized a group of Eagles fans - known as the Dirty 30 - to travel to the NFL Draft in New York City where the Eagles had the second pick.

The "Dirty 30" were told to cheer if the Eagles drafted running back Ricky Williams, but instead the team drafted quarterback Donovan McNabb, who was greeted with a chorus of boos when he appeared on stage.

Cataldi has stated that the boos were not directed at McNabb, but at the Eagle's organization, who passed on drafting Williams.

Cataldi has also had feuds with a number of coaches in Philadelphia particularly Andy Reid and Gabe Kapler, as well as former Eagles owner Norman Braman and former Eagles President Joe Banner.

Cataldi once challenged former Philadelphia Phillies manager Charlie Manuel to a fist fight.

Cataldi is known for interjecting a large entertainment component into the WIP Morning Show including pop culture mentions and comedy bits.

The Wing Bowl turned into a spectacle attracting more than 20,000 people and from 2000 to 2018 was held at the Wells Fargo Center.

The Wing Bowl was ended following the Eagle's victory in Super Bowl LII, which was the franchise's first Super Bowl victory.

Despite generally being seen as a critic of Philadelphia athletes, Cataldi has held events in support of players.

Beginning in 2003, the WIP Morning Show began broadcasting from the Borgata in Atlantic City every Friday.

For 25 years, the WIP Morning Show was broadcast the day before Thanksgiving from the Philadelphia International Airport.

During his tenure as WIP's morning host, Cataldi has been known for both his vocal praise and criticism of Philadelphia's sports teams, coaches, players and fans.