Bruce Wolf Biography
Bruce Wolf is a Chicago broadcaster and sports anchor who has been on both TV and radio for more than 20 years.
Bruce previously hosted a politics-themed talk show weekday mornings on WLS (AM) radio in Chicago.
He works part-time as a divorce attorney and also fills in as a sportscaster on WMAQ-TV in Chicago.
Bruce Wolf Age
Bruce was born on September 11, 1953. He is 65 years old as of 2018.
Bruce Wolf Wife
Bruce is married to Caryn. Bruce and Caryn have been married since 1975. The couple has five children.
Bruce Wolf PhotoBruce Wolf Early Life
Bruce is the son of Ira Wolf, a hardware store owner in Chicago’s Lincoln Park neighborhood. He grew up in Skokie, Illinois.
He earned a degree in journalism at Northwestern University in 1975. He later also earned a law degree from Chicago-Kent College of Law.
Bruce decided to attend law school at the age of 24 while working full-time as a newspaper reporter. At that time, he was also doing play-by-play broadcasts on two small radio stations.
Bruce Wolf WXRT
Bruce began working full-time for Lerner Newspapers from 1972 to 1981. He had his break when WXRT radio’s owner Dan Lee asked Bruce’s father’s if Bruce would be interested in a vacant sportscasting position.
Bruce began hosting Athletes’ Feats on WXRT from 1976 until 1982. The show was later hosted by Chicago Tribune columnist Bob Verdi from 1982 until the end of 2000.
Bruce also did morning sportscasts at WXRT and in 1982, he joined WLUP-FM Radio, also doing sportscasts.
While working at WLUP, Bruce created a character named “Chet Chitchat”. This was a blended caricature of Chicago sportscasters Chet Coppock and Chuck Swirsky, his predecessor at WLUP. It became a weekly feature on the station’s morning program.
Bruce Wolf WFLD-TV
Bruce joined WFLD FOX News Chicago in 1987. He became the morning sports anchor. While working for FOX he received three local Emmy awards.
From around 1990 until around 1991, he co-hosted 9:30, an informal talk show on WFLD-TV airing right after the station’s 9 p.m. newscast.
He famously once decided not to bother with a traditional sports report in June 1993 during the station’s 9 p.m. newscast. This was because few sports fans would be watching an evening newscast during a Chicago Bulls playoff game.
As a result, Bruce delivered his June 2, 1993 sports report from the living room of his north suburban home, surrounded by his wife and five children.
In September 1994, Bruce was demoted from being the 9 p.m. sports anchor at WFLD. He, however, remained at the station as a morning sports anchor.
In 2003, Bruce publicly criticized a sportscasting rival at WMAQ-TV for wearing a Chicago Bears logo shirt while covering Bears’ pre-season games. Bruce argued that the move undermined the rival’s credibility.
Bruce was terminated from WFLD-TV in February 2006 after 18 years there. The reasons for his firing were never made entirely clear, but local media provided two explanations.
One explanation was that Bruce’s contract was too rich for the station. The other reason involved a pair of incidents that had occurred over the previous six months.
In December 2016, an independent arbitrator ruled that WFLD had no reason to terminate Bruce. He awarded Bruce full back pay and severance.
Bruce Wolf WMAQ-TV
Bruce joined WMAQ-TV (NBC 5) as a traffic and sports reporter in September 2005.
In January 2007, he became the host of WMAQ-TV’s Barely Today, a freewheeling news and talk show that aired at 4:30 a.m. It involved him engaging in banter with news anchor Ellee Pai Hong and weatherman Andy Avalos.
The show ended after lasting just five months due to poor ratings and it was canceled in June 2007.
After the show was canceled, he returned to sports anchoring and reporting duties at WMAQ-TV. He was then let go from WMAQ-TV on a permanent basis when his contract expired in February 2008.
Since leaving WMAQ-TV on a full-time basis in February 2008, Bruce has continued to occasionally fill in at WMAQ-TV as a sports anchor.