Here’s what life was like in 1922 when KTAR first hit the airwaves

PHOENIX — KTAR this week celebrates 100 years on the airwaves in Phoenix, and suffice to say life was very different when the station debuted in 1922.

So let’s turn back the clock and see how 1922 compares to today and some items of note from the year KTAR launched.

Arizona Population

1922: 360,000

2021: 7,276,316

National Gas Prices

1922: $0.25 per gallon ($4.30 when adjusted for inflation)

2022: $4.98 per gallon

Cost of a Radio Advertisement

1922: $50, plus long-distance fees

2022: $200 to $5,000 per week, depending on various factors

What People Were Listening to 

Fanny Brice’s “My Man,” Paul Whiteman’s “Three O’Clock in the Morning,” and Al Jolson’s “April Showers and “Toot Toot Tootsie (Goodbye).”

What Movies People Were Watching 

“Dr. Mabuse, the Gambler,” “Robin Hood,” “Dancing the Twist in Bamako,” “Foolish Wives,” “Blood and Sand,” and “Oliver Twist.”

“Nosferatu” premiered in Germany in 1922 but it wouldn’t make its debut in the U.S. until 1929.

Sports Champions

New York Giants (MLB), Toronto St. Pats (NHL), Canton Bulldogs (NFL), California, Cornell and Princeton (NCAA Football)

Other Significant Events to Take Place in 1922

British Broadcasting Company was founded, the Ottoman Empire ended, USSR established, Lincoln Memorial was dedicated, the Rose Bowl Stadium built, the railroad shopmen’s strike occurred, Coca-Cola’s first polar bear print advertisement appeared, Haribo invented the gummy bear and Betty White was born.

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