As a former DXer in my youth, I very much remember the move to Philly in 1956. Not knowing its complete pre-1956 history, I remember thinking, "How could a station beginning with a K move to Philadelphia?"

After reading your link, RA, I'm astounded at the convoluted history of those calls.

And here I sit with my old QSL cards, letters and envelopes wondering why I still keep them. Oh, and to this day, I fall asleep with an earbud in one ear. Can't break the habit. Can't sleep without it. 

 

RadioActive wrote:

This won't be a post that will interest anyone but DXers and radio history buffs, but what a bizarre backstory there is behind the call letters "KYW," currently a 50,000-watt radio station at 1060 on the dial in Philadelphia.

But it wasn't always there. 

This amazing history traces the tale of how those call letters travelled from its origins in Chicago, wound up in Philadelphia, got transferred to Cleveland and finally landed back in Philly, leaving that city with a rare eastern "K" call sign designation. 

I don't think anyone here was alive when it was in the Windy City, but if there has ever been a station that travelled more than this one, I can't think of it. It's a story of big business, government inaction, payola, and a lot of very bizarre behind-the-scenes manipulations.

But you may need to get out a map (or a GPS) to follow all the twists and turns that brought it back to where it remains to this day. 

The KYW Story – The Station That Really Moved Around

Not only was there KYW Radio, but there was also KYW-TV which was in Cleveland and moved to Philadelphia - incidentally both stations were on Channel 3. Channel 3 in Cleveland later became WKYC.