Co-host of 98.5’s morning show Toucher and Rich, Fred “Toucher” Toettcher is one many media members that will be getting their first round of approval ratings this time around.

Originally from Detroit, MI, Toucher attended Rollins College in Winter Park Florida. He began his radio career in Atlanta at an AM country station, and also worked for CNN Sports Illustrated. While in Atlanta went to work for radio station 99X, working nights, and then mornings. It was here that he first met Rich Shertenlieb. The duo got their first show together at WBCN here in Boston in 2006, starting in afternoons. In 2008 they moved to mornings, replacing Opie & Anthony.

In 2009 when CBS Radio made the decision to do away with WBCN’s classic rock format and launch an FM all-sports station, Toucher and Rich remained as the new station launched at 98.5 FM in August.

Despite a sometimes shaky knowledge of (or interest in, at times) sports, Toucher and Rich have been a huge success in the ratings, providing a consistent challenge to WEEI’s Dennis and Callahan. Toucher has mentioned being a fan of the New York Jets and St. Louis Cardinals. The show’s coverage of the Bruins has been very good.

Toucher lives outside Boston with his wife and two children.

{democracy:99}

Published by Bruce Allen

Automattician.

41 thoughts on “2011 Approval Ratings – Fred Toucher”

  1. Switched over to T&R day 1 of TSH and listen every day. I thoroughly enjoy the mix of humor and sports, D&C was not the right way for me to start the day while I crawl through traffic. Both Fred & Rich have improved their sports knowledge as time goes on are in touch with the local audience. I very much approve.

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  2. Never cost his high school team a trip to Superbowl, never got Ryen Russillo banned from the Patriots pre-game show, never mistook a gorilla for an inner-city elementary school student, has both a pulse and a sense of humor… approve.

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  3. Toucher and Rich is not a sports show so to slam them for their lack of knowledge does not really seem fair. Their show is what it is…an FM Pop/Rock stations morning Man show designed to appeal to 19-45 or whatever that demo is. They do that just fine. Its not really to my liking…I flip in occasionally when NPR is boring, and WEEI is in commercial or worse talking hockey…sometimes they do a funny/creative bit (guess the true Florida fact from two weeks ago sticks out as something I did laugh at)….but on average theirs is forgettable radio. If I was looking at them as sports people, they do not drive conversation, rarely are insightful and generally do not add anything to the Boston SPORTS landscape. I do not believe that Fred Toettcher is any better or worse than Rich Shertenlieb.

    My real problem is neither morning show has quality sports talk…

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  4. Show has gradually worked its way into the morning rotation with WERS, NPR, WRKO and WTKK…it really depends on which show is clicking at any given time, or whether you are in the mood for music…let's put it this way, it doesn't suck.

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  5. Strong approve. Someone has to keep Adolfo in line. I just wish they'd bring back Crash and the Chili Guy, never.

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  6. Approve! I'm a big fan of T&R…it is a breath of fresh air from D&C. Is Fred the most knowledgeable person on the air, absolutley not, but he has been much better than he was starting out. I think it helps that he talks like a fan and doen't try to sound like an expert and leaves that to the guests that they have on. He does know some hockey which puts him ahead of D&C who sound like they are being forced to talk Bruins.

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  7. He's a good egg. kind of a prick, hates everyone…but anyone who's down with relentlessly killing Dennis and Callahan is good peeps.

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  8. T&R have clearly filled a void in the morning radio line up and have been my choice for my long commute since they started up the sports hub. I grew tired of D&C way back in 2005 when even after the sox won the world series, they would still bitch and complain about the team. And that was before D&C became a right wing conservative golf show. T&R still lose me some morning with their drunken recap. Maybe once every other month it would be funny but they do this far too often for me to enjoy it. Clearly Toucher is driving force behind the show because when he is out, they show falls off quite a bit.

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  9. I think they're entertaining – which is what "personalities" are for. Not voting because they still think Ellsbury is soft because of the local media idiocy from last year; huge thumbs down for not knowing. But they are much better than the two miserable political morning talkies at EEI.

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  10. Hey guys hey. I approve hole heartly, now if I can only get the liget out of my eye Ill be happpy to write more

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  11. They lose me sometimes when the conversation starts wandering too far afield, but I've laughed out loud on the drive to work more times in these past few months I've been listening than probably the 10 years before that combined.

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  12. Generally approve. Does come off as a bit thinskinned at times.

    Unlike others even on his own station is generally interested in what's going on in the world outside of sports.

    Dump Wallach, bring back Crash – who looks a lot like a former crewmember of the Time Bandit.

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  13. I have slowly become a big fan of T&R. Fred does a nice job as the “host”. You can tell that they prep for the show and don’t just come in and start talking about the game played the night before. The only “bit” I never took to was the Dating on Demand segment where they played audio of guys looking for dates. I am glad that they phased that one out. I love the stuff they do around Brandon Meriwhether. Fred gets a thumbs up from me.

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  14. The T&R show is in my morning rotation along with WERS and the NPR stations. In fact it's one of the only sports shows that I'll listen to. I like to think of it as a sports talk show for people who hate sports talk shows. They are very self aware and don't seem to take themselves or pro sports too seriously. Jon Wallach has been a nice addition as well.

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  15. Toucher's approval rating should be great considering who they go up against. T&R or D&C? That's an easy call for me. At least he's rescued us from those two Les Misérables buffoons on EEI every morning.

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  16. I'm a loyal D&C listener and continue to prefer their brand of talk radio hands down to the Opie & Anthony-lite dreck served up by Toucher & Rich every morning. They had little to no experience in covering sports prior to the launch of the Sports Hub and have been living in New England for less than 5 years, so what exactly gives them the credibility to talk Boston sports? Nothing, in my opinion. Their act is far more suited for a rock station.

    Strongly disapprove.

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  17. Hey guys hey. Fred is the man, easily 3rd most valuable contributor to T&R, right behind Rich, "Mike behind the Mike C" and peanut butter/ porno top shelf Bruins guy. Probably tied with Adolfo when I think about it.
    Just sayin'.
    But seriously, he and Rich make the mornings so much more enjoyable. I'll take a good laugh over the bland material down the AM dial. Long live T&R.

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  18. Hard to argue with anything said here, as I too have preferred the humor of T&R since day one over the arrogant morning snarkiness over at EEI. I realize Fred is the one being rated here and is responsible for most of the dialogue on the show, but Rich deserves just as much credit for all he does behind the scenes in putting some of the pre-recorded bits together. And don't forget Rich's effort to bring Charlie Sheen in studio for a live midnight interview when they were scheduled to be on the air in another six hours…winning!

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  19. I love the two commenters that think it's important to let everyone know they listen to NPR. Including the one guy who says he changes the station when NPR "…gets boring…" LMBO. Unlike most of the time when NPR is a roller coaster ride of radio fun?

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    1. Some people wake up angry – and I think D&C is the perfect show for them. Others like to wake up gradually and genuinely want to be in a good mood. I'm in the latter group – it's not about fun but about the mood of your morning. NPR is soothing radio. Don't wake up to T&R because they're full of giggling but they're happy if not a great start to my mornings.

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    2. Well since this a website devoted to Boston Sports Media, the listening and viewing habits of all of us are germane. Objection overruled!

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    3. I wouldn't describe the Takeaway, Says You, Car Talk, or Wait Wait Don't Tell Me as boring. Some of it does drone, but commercial radio is hardly better…

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      1. Can we please eliminate the thumbs down/thumbs up feature? If someone disagrees with you, just come out and say it. Ugh.

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  20. Who knew so many readers of this site listen to NPR. Though, on second thought, I'm not surprised!

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  21. Fred's alright. He's not as funny as he thinks he is and his impersonations are terrible. Rich needs to get the mike more often and for crying out loud there is more going on than hockey! Mildly approve.

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  22. T&R is the first radio show I have genuinely looked forward to since Stern left regular radio. Fred's a funny guy, and I think the show is a good balance of sports and humor. I don't need politics first thing in the morning.

    Funny that the write-up mentions their shaky knowledge of/interest in sports. One of the reasons I bailed years ago on those bitter old tools on EEI was that it was clear that they take almost no interest in sports — especially anything that is beyond Boston or aired after 8:30 pm. Plus, they're just miserable. T&R makes me laugh at least once a day, and Fred's a genuine Bruins fan, and he brings that perspective and level of knowledge to the show. Strongly approve.

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  23. I enjoy T&R. I'm not offended by their lack of knowledge of sports. They come off like everyday fans when discussing sports. That's what I want. I don't want athletes talking down to me (DeOssie, Smerlas) or others pretending they know more than they do (Mutt/Merloni).

    T&R is entertaining. Took awhile for me to come around but I'm hooked.

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  24. Approve.

    My rotations is T&R with commercial breaks switching to TKK or NPR depending upon the nonsense that Jim and Margerie are going on about. Sometimes I'll switch over to D&C and just wish it was C&anyone else.

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  26. … and then we get Mut & Merloni or Gresh and Zo.
    I think the suggested timeline of when radio gets interesting and/or informative around here needs to be adjusted.

    Of course, the 2 pm slot doesn't exactly bring the golden days of radio, either

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    1. At 10:00 I can at least listen to Michael Graham if both sports stations are boring the crap out of me…or Glenn Beck if I am interested in the latest conspiracy started by the 1920 progressives.

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  27. Is their show now different from when it was WBCN? If not, then why did people switch from D&C to them when it became the Sports Hub? I've listened to them a couple of times and they are clearly not a sports show. Comparing them to Dennis and Callahan is apples and oranges. I don't get why they are now fierce competitors, but they weren't before. What were their ratings when they were on WBCN?

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  28. Approve.
    They entertain me, unlike D & C. And, seeing that sports are entertainment to me, a little off topic is a-ok with me.

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  29. Forgot to mention that one of the best impressions Fred does is of sports yakker Jim Rome. It’s so dead-on I wish he’d find a way to use it more often.

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    1. I forgot to mention that as well. His Rome is spot on! He gets bad rap for his impersonations but I think they are a riot.

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  30. When I'm not listening to NPR, writing my memoirs, donating my possessions to charity, or finding a cure for cancer… I approve on Fred Toucher.

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  31. I re-read your post and it is clear that the one who does not get sarcasm is you, nice try though..

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  32. Fred is hilarious and the ratings prove it. For all the people who don't get his sense of humor, I'm sorry you are almost dead. Please try to enjoy the days you have left in productive ways like enjoying your grandchildren or on online bingo, instead of on useless websites like this.

    Just sayin' <<that one was for u Freddy T.

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  33. Hey guys… Hey. Huge fan of this show and Fred in particular. After mindnight when radio content is often national and not local I've started listening to the T&R via podcast. I get to hear the first 1.5 hours of the show that I missed early in the AM. Often times he is laugh out loud funny and the self deprecating style of Freddy boy is classic. The Merriweather and Chachi impressions are the best. All of the bits are insanely funny but that is all done by partner Rich. Not since Stern has radio been so entertaining and must-listen for me. The fact that the entertainment is centered around Hub sports only makes it sweeter.

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  34. I've noticed that you have to clarify your comments quite often. Maybe your writing style is not as clever as you seem to think it is.

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