OFFICIAL BIO: Petro was born in St. Louis, Missouri. After several moves and at the age of one Petro put down roots in Kansas City. From 1974 through high school he grew up in Prairie Village, KS, graduating from Shawnee Mission East in 1989. Petro decided to attend Syracuse University and pursue a Broadcast Journalism degree. After four years of late night pizza, subs, and many beers Petro emerged from Syracuse with a BS degree from the Newhouse School of Communications in 1993.
After turning down job offers in locations like Whiteville, North Carolina, Petro took his first job in broadcasting with what then was called KCTE-AM 1510… The Team. His first position was in sales, but lasted only a few months. Petro then began work with Peter Yates Enich on the Pete Enich Show. The Pete Enich Show was the first local sports talk show on 1510 later to be called Sports Radio 1510. After a year the popularity of The Pete Enich Show dictated expanding the show to three hours, and Petro joined Enich as his co-host. The two worked together two plus years before being fired for being “too expensive”. Petro was summoned to the office of Gary Acker, then owner of 1510, on the Wednesday after Syracuse lost to Kentucky in the 1996 National Championship game. Petro was informed that he was being let go, along with Pete Enich because their salaries were too high for the station to cover. Petro was making a whopping $16,000 per year after receiving a raise several months before from his original annual salary of $12,000. Petro actually had to inform Pete that he was fired while Enich was on the beach.
Las Vegas was next on the list for Petro. He went to work for the SportsFan Radio Network. He co-hosted Game Night, the 5P-10P shift, with Chuck Powell. In addition, Petro hosted the weekend over-night show from Midnight-6A shift on Saturday night/Sunday morning. Game Night was heard on more than 75 stations across the country, while the over-night show was carried on more than 200 radio stations (because it was in the middle of the night and no station in their right mind would pay someone to work at that hour of the night) in cities like Boston, Dallas, Seattle, Phoenix, Houston, Tampa, Detroit, San Francisco, Miami, Cleveland, New Orleans, and Pittsburgh.
After three years in Las Vegas, Petro returned home to Kansas City in 1999. He worked at News Radio 980-KMBZ for the next four-and-a-half years. He teamed with Don Fortune in the afternoons, later moving solo to the evenings. Petro returned to the afternoons in 2001. During his time at KMBZ he also worked on the Pre and Post broadcasts for Kansas City Royals Baseball. Petro also worked as the host of the Post-game for the University of Kansas basketball for two years, including 2003 when he handled the post-game broadcast of the National Championship game between Kansas and Syracuse.
In January of 2004 Petro moved into the 11A-2P slot for Sports Radio 810, WHB. His show, The Program, has consistently been at the top of the ratings since then. The Program features segments like the “Two Minute Drill”. Every Monday and Friday, the Drill covers the big sports stories around the country, with the people who cover them in their own city. The Program also features weekly, in-season segments with the players on the field. Chiefs, All-Pro Guard, Brian Waters appears weekly during football season and Royals Outfielder Mark Teahen gives The Program an inside look at the Royals Clubhouse. Insiders are a big part of The Program as well. Featuring ESPN’s Jayson Stark for baseball, ESPN’s Doug Gotlieb for College Basketball, New York Newsday and ESPN 2’s Bob Glauber for the NFL, and ESPN’s Todd McShay for college football.
The Program wraps up each week with Kansas City’s most popular hour of radio… Stump the Chumps. Peter Yates Enich joins the gang in an epic battle of sports history knowledge between the Chumps (Soren, Pete, and Kurtis) versus the listeners. All in the name of free food.
High School: Shawnee Mission East (1989)
College: Syracuse (1993)