Ryan Jaeckel
CONTRIBUTOR
If you’ve been listening to the 2019 Men’s College World Series pregame show on 1620 AM or walked around the Omaha Baseball Village (OBV), you’ve heard the voice of Josh Peterson, one of the Voices of the CWS.
Josh Peterson, a local from Omaha, is co-host for “Unsportsmanlike Conduct” on 1620 AM The Zone, the biggest sports radio station in Nebraska. Peterson has been to the CWS 15 total times, eight as a member of the media.
“This is my fifth year on the air,” Peterson said. “I started with producing the games in 2012 until 2014.”
During the CWS, Peterson spends his time behind the mic in the OBV. He’s been able to do the pregame show with other radio hosts like Nick Bahe of “Game Time with Nick Bahe” and Damon Benning, former Nebraska football running back and co-host of “Sharp and Benning in the Morning.”
Fan interaction has also been a highlight for Peterson.
“Being able to hear from someone ‘I love your show’ is very cool to hear,” he said. “It’s something that I don’t take for granted.”
Like many in Omaha, Peterson loves going to the CWS, and has made it a tradition to attend the series with his family. It has been a tradition to go on Father’s Day every year with his dad, but he was unable to this year due to scheduling conflicts and difficulty securing tickets for this year’s games. It’s been one of his favorite CWS memories; the other being the producer of the 2012 CWS.
He never gets tired of doing his job, he said, even during the long week and a half tournament. For Peterson, this is dream job, one he had his eye on since he took a broadcasting class in high school.
In high school, Peterson was an avid listener of “Unsportsmanlike Conduct” with Kevin Kugler and Mike’l Severe. While a student at the University of Nebraska Lincoln, he got an internship at 1620 The Zone AM doing the show with the two men he looked up to and listened to every day from 2-6 p.m. Both Kugler and Severe referred to him as none other than “intern.”
After some staffing changes with the show, Peterson was still at 1620 producing “Unsportsmanlike Conduct.” While looking for a new co-host, the station kept going back to Peterson. In August of 2014 “Unsportsmanlike Conduct” was hosted by John Bishop and Josh Peterson. It was no longer a show, but a “progrum.”
Bishop has enjoyed his co-host and said it helps create a good atmosphere for the listener.
“There’s this old versus young dynamic that helps the progrum,” said Bishop. “The perspectives are very different.”
When Peterson is done doing the pregame show, he walks around Lot D to talk with the tailgaters or goes home, which is not too far from the ballpark.
Peterson has no plans to leave his dream job doing the show, or “progrum,” that he grew up listening to.
You can meet and visit with Josh in the Omaha Baseball Village every morning before the game to talk sports and help take in the great environment that is the Men’s College World Series.
