Lt. Al Ford (Your Sky Patrol)

Al Ford was a born ham, even at his days at Jefferson High School in Tampa. He was a musician, and was instrumental in starting the Tampa Police Band.

Ford was hired by Ed Ripley at WDAE to do traffic reports while he was a member of the TPD. The rest is magic, as Ford would entice morning and afternoon commuters with his special brand of humor. He was bigger than life in his prime.

His noted sign off was “This is Lt Al Ford, your Skyyyyy Patrol”. Al flew his own plane, he was an accomplished pilot. Al went on to do the same at WSUN after being canned by WDAE. He set the standards for the 1970s and 80s.

There was a time he was so big, his name kept surfacing as a possible candidate for Hillsborough County Sheriff.

Today Al is retired, living a quite life with his wife.