Pour some beer and radishes out for a homie!
Yesterday evening, WWLS The Sports Animal celebrated Al Eschbach’s 50th year on Oklahoma sports radio with a special night of disgraced guests, tributes and one very big announcement.
After 50 years in Oklahoma Sports Media, Al Eschbach has announced that he will be retiring at the end of 2027.
— The Sports Animal (@sportsanimal) August 10, 2026
A true Oklahoma Media legend! pic.twitter.com/xeVYhWxP1W
Yep, that's right! Warn the Thailand Ministry of Tourism and stock the wine cabinet at Othello’s! After 50 years of talking about OU football, OU football and a few other sports besides OU football, Al Eschbach has announced he’s going to retire from The Sports Animal at the end of… 2027.
That’s cool and everything, but isn’t the end of 2027 kind of a distant timeline to announce a retirement?
I’m not good at Craig Humphreys’ new math, but that’s like two OU football recruiting cycles away. With the way sports radio – and its ad dollars – have been cannibalized by podcasts, short-form video and social media, let’s just hope there’s still a Sports Animal for him to retire from!
Naturally, tribute tweets rolled in across the local sports media sphere, with sports media personalities young and old chiming in to congratulate Al.
Long-time Oklahoma sports talk radio host Al Eschbach announces on @sportsanimal that he plans to retire at the end of 2027.
— George Stoia III (@GeorgeStoia) August 10, 2026
A true legend in the industry.
The absolute Godfather of Oklahoma Sports Media. LEGEND!!! https://t.co/FSqA5cJfeq
— Curtis Fitzpatrick (@cfitzfox) August 10, 2026
It has been surreal working with Al this year. Truly legendary career! Every person in this business owes Al Eschbach a debt of gratitude for paving the way for all of us. It has been said many times, but I will continue to say that Al deserves to be in the Oklahoma Sports Hall… https://t.co/paAr0u0ODe
— Sam Humphreys (@SamHumphreys34) August 10, 2026
Obviously, there are a few questions about the news, like A) who’s going to replace him and B) does this mean the end of Name That Tune with Jim Traber, but we’ll have plenty of time to speculate about those.
In the meantime, I’d like to wish Al the best of luck as he counts down his distant retirement. We’ve obviously had some fun at Al’s expense over the years, but there’s no denying he’s been one of the most recognizable voices in Oklahoma sports media for decades.
Congrats to him on 50 years, and good luck making it through the next 16 months. Let’s hope he stays away from Colombia:
Stay with The Lost Ogle. We’ll keep you advised.
