Editing CFRB (section)

=== Early years ===
CFRB first [[sign-on|signed on]] the air on February 19, 1927. It is not [[CFCA (AM)|Toronto's very first radio station]], but it is the city's oldest English-language broadcaster still operating today. ([[CJBC (AM)|CJBC]], which now operates in French, was founded in 1925.) It was founded by the [[Rogers Vacuum Tube Company]]. The station was used to promote [[Edward S. Rogers Sr.]]'s invention of a [[batteryless radio]] receiver that could be operated using [[alternating current]] and therefore did not need the cumbersome battery that had previously been required. The station itself was a demonstration of Rogers' application of his invention to radio transmitters as well as receivers, a development that allowed for a signal that reproduced voices and music more clearly. The new type of transmitter also made CFRB the world's first all-electric radio station.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.canadianheritage.org/enterprises/rogers/index.htm|title=Rogers – Canadian Enterprises|publisher=Canadian Heritage Gallery|date=January 1, 1960|access-date=February 1, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100409060351/http://www.canadianheritage.org/enterprises/rogers/index.htm|archive-date=April 9, 2010|url-status=dead}}</ref> The letters "RB" in the station's callsign stand for "Rogers' Batteryless".

The station began transmitting on an experimental basis in January 1927 as 9RB, before being converted to commercial operation a few weeks later, as CFRB. Those [[call sign|call letters]] have been used continuously since then. On February 19, the inaugural broadcast was a live [[Orchestra|symphony orchestra]] concert conducted by Jack Arthur.<ref>{{cite web|author=Paul Cassel VE3SY|url=http://www.hammondmuseumofradio.org/cfrb.html|title=Toronto Radio Station 9RB – CFRB|publisher=Hammond Museum of Radio|date=February 10, 2004|access-date=February 1, 2010}}</ref> During its first years, CFRB leased time to two [[Phantom radio station|phantom stations]]: CNRX, owned by [[Canadian National Railway]]s and providing programs of [[CNR Radio|Canada's first radio network]], and CPRY, owned by the CNR's rival, the [[Canadian Pacific Railway#Radio|Canadian Pacific Railway]]. The CNR's network was discontinued in 1933, with many of its assets eventually passing to the [[Canadian Broadcasting Corporation]] (CBC), and the CPR's radio service was discontinued in 1935.<ref name=rogers>{{cite web|url=https://broadcasting-history.ca/radio/radio-stations/ontario/ontario-city-of-toronto/cfrb-am/|title=CFRB-AM|website=Canadian Communications Foundation – Fondation Des Communications Canadiennes |publisher=Broadcasting-history.ca|access-date=March 11, 2024}}</ref>

CFRB's first studios were in a mansion on [[Jarvis Street]] north of Wellesley Street, built by the family of [[Hart Massey]]. In 1929, the station moved to purpose-built studios at 37 [[Bloor Street]] West. In the same year, the station became a [[network affiliate]] of the [[CBS|Columbia Broadcasting System]].<ref name=rogers />

In 1932, CFRB began airing the ''General Motors Hockey Broadcast'', which had originated on the CNR's network. This program eventually became ''[[Hockey Night in Canada]]'', and continued to be aired by CFRB for many years, despite also airing on the CBC's [[flagship (broadcasting)|flagship station]] [[CBLA-FM|CBL]], and continues to this day on [[CBC Television]] and [[Rogers Sportsnet]].<ref name=rogers />

From the 1930s to the 1950s, CFRB was the radio broadcaster for the [[Toronto Santa Claus Parade]].

In 1937, CFRB began to [[simulcast]] on [[Shortwave radio|shortwave]] station [[CFRX]] at 6070&nbsp;kHz.<ref name=rogers />

Following the sudden death of Edward S. Rogers Sr. in 1939, Rogers Majestic Corporation Limited was sold in 1941 and became Standard Radio Limited. In turn, the company was acquired by [[Argus Corporation]] in 1946.<ref name=rogers />

On November 1, 1946, [[Wally Crouter]] joined CFRB. He eventually became its morning [[drive time]] host, a position he would hold until his retirement on November 1, 1996, after exactly fifty years at the station.<ref name=rogers />