This week, NY’s WFAN commemorates their 25th anniversary as a 24-7, all-sports outlet, the nation’s first of its kind. Of the station’s humble beginings, “it almost seemed to me we were trying to put Sports Phone out of business,” John Minko tells Newsday’s Neil Best. A modest, but achievable goal, certainly, and while the FAN initially made a splash with (relatively) big name hires like Jim Lampley, Greg Gumbel and Pete Franklin, it wasn’t until the homegrown talent came into their own that the station really took off. I’m not referring to Mike Francesa, Chris Russo or even to to that great lynch-pin in Huey Lewis’ career, Steve Somers, but rather, to callers such as the legendary Doris From Rego Park, the social crusader known as Eli from Westchester, Mets maniac Short Al, and most of all, the amazing Jerome From Manhattan. No celebration of WFAN history is complete without some homage to these effervescent conversationalists.