Contests

WQAM played hundreds of contests throughout the Sixties and Seventies giving away prizes ranging from 56 cents (see this check stub) to thousands of dollars, cars, boats, trips, etc.
Here are some contests from the music surveys, air checks and memory.

Bucks For Breaks

The first contest I remember was running when I first started listening to WQAM in 1962. It was called "Bucks for Breaks". The idea was to make up a saying in the form of "All ____ listen to WQAM because ______", where you filled in the blanks. I entered and actually won! Click here for more information.

Tiger Tracks, Car 56 and window stickers

Another contest running multiple times during the Sixties was the "Tiger Track" and "Car 56" contests. Bumper stickers called "Tiger Tracks" (also window stickers and antenna toppers) were given out to put on your car. Every hour, the license number of a car spotted with a Tiger Track was announced on the air. The owner had one minute and 56 seconds to call the station to claim the prize which was a running jackpot that increased by every time the game was played without a winner. There are samples of "Tiger Tracks" and a window sticker on the Stickers page.

Secret Agent 56

There was a "Secret Agent 56" contest in 1963. One student was picked from each Jr. and Sr. High School in South Florida to be that school's Secret Agent 56. If Secret Agent 56 could go one week (I think) without being discovered, they won a transistor radio. It was shaped like a baseball if I remember correctly. If Secret Agent 56 was discovered by another student, then that student won the radio. I called the station and asked if I could be Secret Agent 56 for my school, Everglades Jr. High. I went to school the day the contest started and in the first period, I was asked if I was Secret Agent 56. I should have known I had no chance of getting through the day, let alone the week without being asked. All my friends knew what a big WQAM fan I was.

Money Matches

WQAM played the Money Match Game several different times. Matchbooks were given away in restaurants, bars, etc. Each had a unique number inside. Each hour a matchbook number was announced on the air. The person who had the matchbook with that number inside  had to call the station within 56 seconds to claim the jackpot. If there was no winner, the jackpot increased. I can remember frantically going through my list of numbers trying to see if I won each time they announced a number. Here are three different samples of Money Matchbooks:

Listen to Money Match being played

Phone-in Games

Transistor radios

WQAM must have given thousands of transistor radios as prizes. Here are photos of 3. Click for larger images.

More Contest Promos

My Prizes

I must have dialed Jackson 4-9933 thousands of times trying to win contests. I never won a big prize but I did win free records and a couple of small prizes.  The My Prizes page has information on the contests and prizes that I won.