Mike Rhyner, a founder of ‘The Ticket’ sports radio, announces he’s leaving after 26 years
Mike Rhyner, the Texas Radio Hall of Famer who helped create the first all-sports radio station in Dallas-Fort Worth, is calling it quits.
Rhyner posted a formal video announcement on social media Monday afternoon.
“It’s time for me to step away from the gig at The Ticket and that’s what I’m going to do,” Rhyner said in the video. “I don’t want a big deal made out of it. I decided back down the road that the time was right.”
He was inducted into the Texas Radio Hall of Fame in 2014. He has co-hosted the “The Hardline” on “The Ticket” since its inception in 1994.
Rhyner, who turns 70 in August, was integral to starting KTCK/1310 The Ticket in January 1994, said he had conferred with others in his position over the years to learn how to know when to walk away.
Most of them told him that he would know when the time was right.
“I didn’t believe it but now I see that they knew what they were talking about,” Rhyner said. “The time is right. It has been my life for 26 years, probably more than it should have been. I loved everything about the radio station. I loved being on the air, being with the guys, the road trips with the guys. I will miss it terribly, no doubt.”
What will he do next?
“I don’t know. Maybe something, maybe nothing,” he said.
“I don’t have to go find my life’s work, this has been it and I’m damn proud of it and I thank you ‘The Ticket’ listener more than I can tell you.”
Corby Davidson, who co-host on “The Hardline,” said the news was a surprise to him and the rest of the on-air talent at “The Ticket,” a week ago.
“He’s very happy with his situation,” Davidson said. “This has everything to do with a guy who has decided it’s time. We should all be so lucky. We all owe everything to him.”
Many of the original hosts helped reminisce about being lured by Rhyner to the station during its creation.
“We were all blips on the radar in Dallas-Fort Worth. Nobody guessed any of us,” said Craig Miller, who is a co-host of the morning show and one of the original hosts recruited by Rhyner.
This story was originally published January 6, 2020 at 3:56 PM.
