From Petersburg to the Pac-10: Ricky Hunley’s Journey to Greatness

🌟 Ricky Hunley shares his inspiring journey from a crowded home in Petersburg, Virginia, to becoming a Wildcat football legend and College Football Hall of Famer.

☀️ A snowstorm and some sunny Tucson weather led him to choose the University of Arizona over Notre Dame, Ohio State, and other top programs.

🏈 Reflects on the emotional moment he was thrust into the starting lineup as a freshman — and how that game against #1-ranked UCLA changed everything.

📞 Recounts the story of calling his mom from Arizona to say, “I’m coming here” after learning he could also pursue baseball.

🎓 Became the first two-time consensus All-American and highest NFL draft pick in UArizona history.

🏟️ Emphasizes the importance of fans showing up and staying loud — calling the 12th man “an advantage you can feel.”

🎤 Showcases a dynamic, humorous, and heartfelt rapport with guest host Brittany Battle, who brings fresh energy to the conversation.

🧠 Stresses his current mission at UArizona: mentoring players on life, not just football — focusing on leadership, discipline, and teamwork.

🔥 Predicts the Wildcats will win at least 8 games this season and urges the Tucson community to pack Arizona Stadium.

🤝 Shares emotional stories of brotherhood, reunions, and legacy, proving football is family — and Tucson is home.

In this episode of Life Along the Streetcar, guest host Brittany Battle steps into the spotlight for a powerful, in-depth conversation with Ricky Hunley, one of the most celebrated figures in University of Arizona football history. From his modest upbringing in Petersburg, Virginia, to becoming a two-time consensus All-American and the highest NFL draft pick the Wildcats had ever seen, Ricky’s story is deeply rooted in perseverance, family values, and Wildcat pride.

And now? He’s back in Tucson, doing the work that matters most.

🏈 From the Basement to the Big Time: Ricky Hunley’s Path to the NFL

Before the Super Bowls. Before the Hall of Fame. There was a kid in Petersburg, Virginia, growing up in a house full of siblings and foster children, learning life lessons from a resilient single mother. Ricky Hunley credits his strength and drive to the woman who raised him with just two rules: don’t lie, and don’t steal. That foundation would carry him far, but it didn’t start with dreams of football glory.

In fact, Arizona wasn’t even on his radar when college recruiters came knocking. He was fielding offers from powerhouse programs like Notre Dame, Ohio State, and Nebraska. But a canceled trip due to a snowstorm and a last-minute visit to sunny Tucson changed everything. He arrived to blue skies, palm trees, and a chance to play both football and baseball. That was all he needed.

Hunley went on to:

• Become the first-ever two-time consensus All-American in UArizona history

• Be the highest draft pick to come out of the program

• Earn a place in the College Football Hall of Fame

• Play in two Super Bowls with the Denver Broncos

But for Ricky, it wasn’t the accolades that mattered most, it was the growth, the challenge of rising through the ranks, and the community that supported him along the way.

🌵 Back to the Old Pueblo: Why Ricky Hunley Returned to Tucson

After retiring from professional football and a long stint in coaching across the country, including time with USC, Missouri, Florida, the Redskins, and the Raiders, Ricky Hunley found himself back where it all began: the University of Arizona.

Why come back? As he tells Brittany Battle in the interview, it’s all about giving back to the next generation. Hunley is now part of the support team that mentors current Wildcats, guiding young players through more than just X’s and O’s. He’s focused on life skills, character-building, and the kind of leadership that lasts beyond the field.

For Ricky, the most meaningful victories now come from:

• Watching a player mature into a leader

• Building community through football

• Giving these young men the tools to succeed in life, not just sports

His love for Tucson is palpable and contagious. “This city gave me so much,” he says. “Now it’s my turn to give something back.”

🐾 Bear Down for 2025: What to Expect This Wildcat Football Season

Hunley is fired up about the 2025 Arizona Football season, and he wants fans to feel the same way. With a new energy on campus and a new conference, the Big 12, the Wildcats are entering a bold chapter. And Ricky isn’t shy about his expectations: eight wins, minimum.

But he’s also quick to say: it’s not just about the players. It’s about the fans.
He calls on the Tucson community to show up strong and fill the stadium seats, explaining that the crowd, the “12th man”, has the power to turn the tide of a game.

Key takeaways for Wildcat fans:

• New players from the transfer portal bring exciting potential

• Coach Brennan and his staff are setting a high bar with bold leadership

• Defensive coordinator Danny Gonzalez is dialing up pressure

• Offensive swagger is back in full force

Ricky wants Tucson to bring the noise. “We’ve got 50,000 students and over a million people in this city — let’s pack that stadium every game.”

🎟️ Join the Journey — and Bear Down Together

Ricky Hunley’s story is a Tucson story. It’s about family, community, and the long game, both on and off the field.

Whether you’re a longtime Wildcat fan or new to the game, this episode of Life Along the Streetcar offers a front-row seat to the history, passion, and future of Arizona Football. And as the 2025 season kicks off, there’s no better time to get involved.

🎧 Ready to get inspired?

✅ Listen to the full episode: From Petersburg to the Pac-10: Ricky Hunley’s Journey to Greatness
📅 First game kicks off August 30 vs. Hawaii — get your tickets now at arizonawildcats.com
🙌 Follow the podcast on Facebook and SoundCloud
📲 Share this episode with your fellow Wildcats and Tucson superfans

Let’s Bear Down together!

Tom Heath
Good morning. It’s a beautiful Sunday in the Old Pueblo. And you are listening to Katy, TX. Tucson. Thank you for spending a part of your brunch hour with us on your downtown Tucson community. Sponsored, all volunteer powered rock and roll radio station. This week we have a guest host. It’s Brittany Battle, and she talks football with Wildcat legend and two time Super Bowl player Ricky Hunley.

Tom Heath
It’s an all star lineup and you won’t want to miss it, so sit tight. Today is August 24th, 2025. My name is Tom Heath and this is life along the street. Car. Every Sunday we shine a light on social, cultural and economic forces shaping Tucson’s urban core. From a mountain to the University of Arizona and all stops in between.

Tom Heath
You get the inside track right here. On May 9.1 FM and also streaming at Downtown radio.org. Or you can get it on your iPhone or Android by getting me a Downtown Radio Tucson app right there on your phone to connect with us directly about the show. Follow the life along the streetcar on Facebook and Instagram, or head to life along the streetcar.org.

Tom Heath
You’ll find most episodes there, along with audio and, that sweet, sweet video. Plus, you can get information about our book, past shows, or just an easy way to reach out. All kinds of things happening today. We’ve got a superstar lineup for our show, so. Oh my gosh, I don’t even know where to begin. Well, first things I gotta tell you.

Tom Heath
I mentioned this a couple times in the show, but I gotta keep saying it. Because it’s out there in the world, but the Tucson gallery, a sponsor, an underwriter here on Downtown radio, something I’ve been a part of with, for almost three years now. I guess three years at this point. Tucson Gallery closed its doors, at the end of July, inside of the proper shops.

Tom Heath
And we are moving to our new location, which is just about six doors to the west and across the street, going from about 300ft² to over 2000. It is just a phenomenal space. Can’t wait to have you in there. So, be on the lookout. We’ll do some grand opening announcements for October. That first weekend they’re third, fourth, fifth, I think something like that.

Tom Heath
So please pay attention to the Facebook, Instagram, all that good stuff. You can follow the Tucson gallery on those platforms. And of course, life on the Street car will share that info as it becomes, a little bit more solidified, but excited, excited to share this space. We’ll do a show, in September. Really talking about all the emerging, updates and, experiences that will be a part of it.

Tom Heath
Well, speaking of experiences, I had an experience. I got into my studio and we were interviewing Ricky Hundley and Brittany Battle as part of last week’s episode on the rotary, and they had such a good rapport. When it came time to talk football with Ricky Hundley, I was like, Brittany, why don’t you do this? And she didn’t even hesitate like, oh, Tom, I don’t want to take your seat.

Tom Heath
You do such. She’s like, yes, I’ll do it. And just kind of pushed me aside. I’m kidding, I’m kidding. But she did a fabulous, fabulous job. And, we’re going to share that interview, with you right now. It’s, Brittany Battle. She is, interviewing Ricky Hundley, talking you of a football and just tremendous energy. And I got to tell you, I’m a little nervous that after you listen to this interview, you might think it’s good at that time, guy.

Tom Heath
We don’t really need him anymore. Here’s, Brittany and Ricky on the.

Brittany Battle
Welcome to Life on the streetcar. I’m your guest host today, Brittany Battle. And we have a very special treat for you. This man needs no introduction, but I’m going to give you one anyways. This is Ricky Hundley Arizona Football Hall of Famer international man of mystery. He said today I could ask him anything. And I plan to do just that because I know you want to know who Ricky is.

Brittany Battle
You’re dying to know about the football season, which is coming up soon, and we’re going to get right into it. Ricky.

Ricky Hunley
Hey, Brittany.

Brittany Battle
What’s a day in the life for Ricky? You have an incredible job. An incredible history behind you. And I want to know what’s it like?

Ricky Hunley
Well, no, I come from very, very, very humble beginnings. You know, I’m one of ten, there were seven boys. Three girls. What’s it like? 45 foster brothers and sisters. And, it was funny when I was growing up, people used to ask me all the time. Oh, you were such a good football player. Who was your idol growing up?

Ricky Hunley
I’m like, that’s my mom. Like your mom? Like, yeah, my mom was obese. So you could do anything. You. I mean, you know, it was a challenge raising that many kids, but they turned the lights off. She turned them on. You know, they turned the water off. She figured a way to turn it back off. She was a survivor.

Ricky Hunley
And, so she is still a lot of things in us. Just, you know, never quit. You know, you can do anything you want to do. And, you only had two rules with her. Don’t lie to me and don’t steal. You know, we mean, so we could kill somebody. We work that out, but, But it’s. I’m just a normal guy, you know?

Ricky Hunley
I love being around family. I love being around friends. I love being around football. I love being around the football team and the football players. He.

Brittany Battle
Says he’s a normal guy, but he was also first draft pick in the NFL. So, you know, I don’t know if you’re normal.

Ricky Hunley
What? Being drafted makes you abnormal.

Brittany Battle
Well, okay.

Ricky Hunley
Well everybody starts out just a regular guy. Well.

Brittany Battle
You’re not a regular guy. And then you just.

Ricky Hunley
Morph into being that regular guy again when you’re playing days over.

Brittany Battle
Well, I think it’s your expertise and all that that you have done in your career, though, that makes you such a dynamite for the University of Arizona, because you could be anywhere doing anything. And we know you have deep love for the university because you played here and at so many, people remember your early days, you know, and they’ve seen your growth.

Ricky Hunley
You know, I think about, when I first got here and, it really took me 40 years to get back here. After I left. But Arizona was never on the radar for me. I was not interested in Arizona. I, I got a call because my linebacker coach in high school was more older when he walked on here in the 60s, and he was on a football team.

Ricky Hunley
So now he’s my linebacker coach in high school, and he calls out here and he talks to the athletic director and all that sports information director say was Frank Salter. And he said, there’s a football player you guys need to be recruiting in Petersburg. And so they said, Tony Mason was a coach. He sent out Bob Davis to recruit me.

Ricky Hunley
Bob Davis came out and I told him, I said, look, man, I don’t know anything about Arizona. Only thing I know about Arizona is the cartoon. The Coyotes and the Roadrunners, and I’m not really interested.

Brittany Battle
So how did he get you?

Ricky Hunley
He left. Okay, so now I’m being recruited by everybody Notre Dame, Nebraska, Ohio State, Carolina, and we win the state championship. And so now I’m start taking my visits and I go to Maryland. I go to Virginia, I go to, you know, Virginia Tech. And the Virginia Tech visit was the coldest day of my life. It was sleet, freezing rain.

Ricky Hunley
We skidded off the road, hit a mailbox. No one got hurt. But, I mean, it’s it scared the jeebies out of us. So now.

Brittany Battle

Ricky Hunley
The next week, I’m going to my dream school. Ohio State is my friend, Sean Gale. He was from Bethel High School, and we were going to go to on our visits together. While Sean’s brother, Jimmy Gale, was also on the Ohio State team as a running back. And naturally, we’re going to go we’re going to enjoy what are we going to commit?

Ricky Hunley
We’re probably going to go to school together. Well, the week, the next week I’m supposed to go to Ohio State. They had a snowstorm and I was like, I’d never been on a plane before in my life. So I was like, I’m not getting on the plane in the snow. So I call back out to Arizona. I said, look, I’ll take a visit and come to Arizona because I found out my mother’s sister was stationed out here for a chukka, and I said, I’ll get to see my auntie.

Ricky Hunley
So I think I’ll go out there and see her and I won’t go, you know. So I get here, it’s 85 degrees in February. Trees, mountains, beautiful girls, dolphins, shorts. I was in love, but I still was not. So on Arizona, I was a baseball player and I played baseball. And so there coach Mason is doing a pitch recruiting, and we’re in the Wildcat Club overlooking the baseball field.

Ricky Hunley
Terry Francona is pitching and I’m watching. I was a pitcher. And, so he comes over and he said, hey, you play baseball, don’t you? So yes, sir. So you can play. I said, no, I can’t. He said, who told you that? Well, I said, Notre Dame, Nebraska, Ohio State. They say if you play a scholarship sport, you have to go to spring ball for that sport first before you can play a second sport.

Ricky Hunley
He said no, if you’re good enough to play, you can play. What’s wrong? I said, can I use your phone to. Yeah. Can I call my mom? I say, yeah, that’s a scarlet council, Notre Dame, Nebraska and Ohio State. I’m going to.

Brittany Battle
So you heard it here first folks. And he came because the weather was beautiful. The the temp, the ladies, the opportunity was shining down here for you. And thank goodness because now we can have you back.

Ricky Hunley
Yeah.

Brittany Battle
And we can have you know what?

Ricky Hunley
When I got here, I was homesick because it was like I was so far away from home. And I’ve never been that far away more. And I wasn’t the starter anymore. You know, in high school, you’re the best player you play. I’m like third team. I didn’t think I was going to play, and I had a coach. They said, just, just run.

Ricky Hunley
He said, you can run and you’re here. Just run. And, and I worked my way up to second team. So by the first game of the season, I was on all the special teams running up and down the field. Okay, by the second game, the senior in front of me, Jack Halsey, who hurt his back and I had to start.

Ricky Hunley
I wasn’t ready, but I had to start. I only grade out 40% because I didn’t pay attention like I started. Would. And and I played against the number one team in the country was UCLA. Alabama lost at halftime. So Alabama was one, UCLA was two. So now UCLA is one. And we’re playing them. And I’m starting as a freshman.

Ricky Hunley
And my second game and my freshman year. And like I say I don’t agree now 40%. But I had 12 tackles and three sacks. I was packed and played a week, started every game the rest of my career.

Tom Heath
That is Ricky Hundley. You’re listening to him, being interviewed by our guest host Brittany Battle, talking about how he came to the University of Arizona, but a bit about his background. We’re going to get to the second half of that interview in just a moment. But first, I want to remind you that you are listening to lifelong the Streetcar on Downtown Radio and 99.1 FM and streaming on downtown radio.org.

James Portis
This podcast is sponsored by Tom Heath and the team. Another home loans. If you’ve enjoyed this podcast, continue listening or head over to life on the Street Khou.com for current events and information on what to do while visiting Tucson. Tom Heath and MLS number 182420 Nova and MLS number 3087, the UK number 0902429. Equal Housing Opportunity.

Tom Heath
Well, I’ll come back from that short break. If you’re just joining us, we’ve got a special guest host today. Her name is Brittany Battle. She’s been a guest on the show a few times, and now she’s taking the, the lead seat there, I guess. So, the interviewer seat versus the interviewee. And she’s speaking with you of a legend, Ricky Hunley.

Tom Heath
We’ve got football season approaching here in, just a few days. She wanted to get the inside scoop, and they’ve got a tremendous chemistry and rapport going on. So we’re going to jump right back into that. But if you missed the first part of this, or if you want to check out the video, we invite you to head over to life along the streetcar.org on Mondays.

Tom Heath
Usually by that evening we get it, posted up there, and then we hit some shorts on social media, Instagram or Facebook. You can check those all out. But let’s get back into the second half of the interview with Brittany Battle talking to Ricky Hunley.

Brittany Battle
For someone that’s living under a rock and hasn’t been following your football career, which I doubt is anyone, tell us. Give me a snapshot like give me 30s Ricky, let me hard for you, but you can do it 32nd of your history with sports. Ha! Specifically your football career. Give us just paint the picture from 30,000ft if you can.

Ricky Hunley
Say I love Petersburg, Virginia. Which the universe? Arizona, was the first ever highest draft pick in the history of the school. The first ever College Football Hall of Fame, a first ever two time consensus All-American, played at two Super Bowls with Denver. I was a player rep. I forced of trade. I got drafted by Cincinnati. Traded to Denver.

Ricky Hunley
After Denver, I became a player rep. They traded me to the Cardinals in Phoenix. After one year declines in Phoenix as a vice president of the union. They cut me and I went to the Raiders. I was in LA with the Raiders for two years, and I finished up there and I started coaching at USC, and I went to Missouri for seven years in Florida for one year, then the Washington Redskins for one year.

Ricky Hunley
The Cincinnati Bengals was they keep.

Brittany Battle
Going.

Ricky Hunley
USA here.

Brittany Battle
For it.

Ricky Hunley
For two years with Danny Green. And then, I was out of coaching, selling LED lights in recruiting boxes to box. Then I went to Memphis for two years, and I came back and I work for a billboard company for five years. And then I came back to the U of A on my mother five years ago.

Brittany Battle
And we’re so glad that he did, because now he’s taken the U of A football by storm. He’s connecting with players, he’s giving them a leg up for their careers and for their just life skills in general. And I can’t wait to dive into some of that for you guys, because not only is he predicted that the USA football team is going to win eight games this season, which I will hold him to.

Brittany Battle
It, which they begin on the 30th of August, by the way. So if you guys are watching this, please track the schedule, come to the games. But I want to I want to get into that a little bit if we can. What do we have to look for in this season? What what’s exciting? What what do we need people to know?

Brittany Battle
Because, you know, I’m going to be at the games and I’m going to be having a great time, and I want to see others coming out to support our team. So what what do we need to know?

Ricky Hunley
Well, first of all, we need to have our seats full with Brittany’s people that are yelling and screaming and cheering for their team. We’re in a new conference. We’re in the big 12 conference. And I’m telling you, the support that these teams in this conference get from their fans is unbelievable. I mean, they travel, they show up, their stadiums are sold out.

Ricky Hunley
And then these are little towns of 30,000, 40,000, 50,000 people in the town. We got a million people, right? We got 50,000 students. Come on. What are we talking about? If this is your team and you’re going to support your team, show up. Stay there the entire game. Because it means so much to the players. That 12th man is an advantage.

Ricky Hunley
I don’t care what you say, it’s an advantage I can. I get chills right now thinking about when I was playing and we’re beating UCLA.

Ricky Hunley
And no one in the country took them down. Yeah, because the people.

Brittany Battle
Like that’s right that the people make the difference and and Thank you. Like this that that is what this is all about. I it’s it’s supporting players to come together to, to keep the tradition of football. I mean, football is our team. It’s our teammates. It’s and you’re right, people coming up to show and give that support can change a game.

Ricky Hunley
Yes.

Brittany Battle
It can change a season. It can change a person. Yes. And that’s why you have to come be part of it, because it’s going to be an incredible season.

Ricky Hunley
It’s special. I got it came up to my office the other day. Let me say I wanted to give you this. And it’s this round piece of the goalpost because when we beat them, they tore the goalpost down and they cut it up into pieces. And he gave it out to all these people in his company in memory of that day.

Brittany Battle
He tell me more like we’re going to have to do podcast after podcast, folks, because I know you’re going to want more because I want more time with you. And I’m so thankful for this. But like, tell me what for people that don’t play sports or that don’t have something to connect to, or they don’t have sports pride or otherwise, like what is that feeling to to win when you weren’t expected to, to.

Ricky Hunley
I guess, I guess compare it to you’re that mother and you have that baby for the first time, you know, and you’re watching your kid play T-ball for the first time. You’re watching your daughter, you know, win that first medal in gymnastics. It’s just it’s a prideful thing that sticks with you forever. And you work so hard together as a team.

Ricky Hunley
You learn to hate your coaches because they they have to drive you and push you in and take you to places that you’ve never been before. You know, because high school is not like college college. It’s not like pros. You know, and then being a teenager, it’s not like being an adult with kids. There’s so much you have to learn and experience in between.

Ricky Hunley
But when you do it together, you know, oh, man, the reunions are special. I mean, we have twins or some guys that come out every year for our spring game, and it’s that reunion just those guys. It’s like the stories that you’re telling me. I remember when I was a kid and I loved it because when I was a freshman, I used to be the brunt of all the, you know, all the yelling and screaming from the coach.

Ricky Hunley
But Byron Evans fell asleep in the meeting and Coach Rogi just walked him down. And I and I’m laughing because it’s like it’s the same thing to me. I mean, when I was a, I made All-American for the first time and, you know, I’m strutting around still being a goofball, throwing water on people and, you know, goofing around in the middle of practice because you just had to make the time pass fast.

Ricky Hunley
And coach Rocky, you couldn’t even talk to him on a Monday. He was just in game mode. And he would walk up to me and he bolus arms and he was shorter. So he’s always looking up. You see, you think you hot stuff, don’t you. Is he. You ain’t. It’s you going into the house a new grad me built.

Ricky Hunley
But you’re going do you go go up to Notre Dame. You can show your prescriptions to Simone. Ricky on the All-American. Oh, I saw you before. And what do they say to get you back in line to.

Brittany Battle
Do it now? I see you do it now. And that is what it’s all about. He talks about togetherness. Yeah. Ricky knows what that’s all about. And because we don’t have much time left, I just want you to share about that togetherness. Who’s coaching this year? Who, who’s who’s who do people need to know to look out for, to support, to thank who’s had the the whole thing.

Ricky Hunley
You know, without a doubt. Brennan. Brennan is leaving leading the charge. I mean, he has this team in a spot where we’re in a good place. I can be honest with you and say, starting the season out with 50 some new players on your roster. I was very, very, very concerned. Who do we like? I’ve never seen this before, but with the advent of the transfer portal, you got new players.

Ricky Hunley
I just don’t think it’s going to work. But what the strength coach Colin Curl did with those guys in the off season, I mean, he drove them hard. I mean you.

Brittany Battle
Know they’re ready.

Ricky Hunley
Now. They they’re ready. They’re in condition. They’re ready and they’re excited about it. And then coach made some great hires in the on defense. Have you got a defensive coordinator Danny Gonzalez. And they’re going to bring pressure I remember with Rocky Long the way they used to bring pressure at San Diego State. Man they got to bring pressure to take on to give the offense opportunities.

Ricky Hunley
And they’re going to get it. You don’t see balls in the air. Tips and turnovers then stepped up. Offensive coordinator oh my God. The kids have bought in 100%. And he’s got energy like you wouldn’t believe. And just the swag of him and Noah.

Brittany Battle
It’s going to be a good season.

Ricky Hunley
It’s going to be a good season. Don’t you guys? I’m telling you, don’t miss it. You’ll see it. The first game with Hawaii, it’ll be sold out.

Brittany Battle
Let’s come to the press.

Ricky Hunley
You know you need to get there now. Get your tickets, get in your seats, get ready. And, the more games we sell out, the more games we go to win. Because that 12th man is going to be special for us.

Brittany Battle
That’s right. You heard it. Let’s find out how you can follow the team. You can follow all the cool things that are going on. Ricky, where can they find it all?

Ricky Hunley
Just go online Arizona football.com and you get tickets.

Brittany Battle
Get tickets? Yeah. Show up. Look at the team. See who we’ve got. We’ve got new players. Lots to learn. And we want to see you there. We’ll be there. You know it. All right. Thank you.

Ricky Hunley
Thank you man I’m.

Tom Heath
I’m fired up. I know you are with us to start talking back. And for them, excited about, the Hawaii game here on Saturday that was, guest host break, Brittany Battle and she was talking with, you have a legend, college Football Hall of famer, Super Bowl. Player, Ricky Hunley. Super generous, both of them with their time.

Tom Heath
You know, the interview started, the week prior. We, and you can hear this on our website, lifelong street card. Dawg, we did an interview about rotary, and we talked about how they came together through that organization. And then, you know, we’d already planned to do a, U of a segment. Following that, if we had Ricky in the studio, we wanted to really talk to you about football as well.

Tom Heath
So he agreed for kind of a back to back session and it seeing the rapport that those two had together, you know, just sort of struck me like you, how fun would it be to have Brittany do that interview? You know, and I, I got to tell you, I was anxious to to excited to interview Ricky.

Tom Heath
And I would have enjoyed that piece of it, but I think I enjoyed this more. I saw a different style of interview. The energy. Just fun, fun, fun. So thanks to both of them for, something really special and I think we’re going to see more Brittany in that and that seat. I think she’s going to be doing more things either with us or her own show.

Tom Heath
I don’t know, but, she she’s too good not to be doing this regularly. My name is Tom Heath. You are listening to life on the Street car on Downtown Radio and 99.1 FM and streaming on Downtown radio.org.

James Portis
Support for downtown radio is provided by the Tucson Gallery, located in downtown Tucson. Instead of the proper shops at East Congress Street, the Tucson Gallery offers original work, reproductions, and merchandise from Tucson artists like Joe Padgett, Jessica Gonzalez, Ignacio Garcia, and many more. For information about other artists, including when they will be live at the Gallery, head to the Tucson gallery.com or find them on Instagram and Facebook as Tucson Gallery.

Tom Heath
Well, the way you can support is to head over to downtown a radio.org. There’s a donate button right on there. And, we say it many times, but I’ll keep reminding you that we are a volunteer run station. No paid staff, no paid show hosts, no paid deejays. Our board, our tech team, our, fundraising committees. They’re all all volunteers and we’re lucky to have so many people spending dedicated time to keep the radio on the air.

Tom Heath
So I hope you find it in your heart to check out Downtown radio.org. Maybe hit the donate button knowing that your funds will go to the, the betterment of this station for you and for others because that’s that’s where the money goes. We pay the bills and, we buy equipment. Sometimes we make some improvements. Sometimes we just make sure the stuff works.

Tom Heath
But your support, as you just heard, is, very appreciated and very needed. While you’re on there, check out the the lineup, coming up in just a few minutes here, if you stay tuned, which I know you will because you do all the time. It’s a Ted Brazil ski words and work interviews, writers and others, members of the labor movement.

Tom Heath
And then Ty Logan, brings us to the top of the hour. Well, it kicks off at the top of the hour. Ted brings us to the top, and then at noon, Ty Logan is on with his show Heavy Mental. And, Yeah, again, just great quality conversations around mental health and removing a lot of those stigmas that, have plagued us in that and that area for, for a long time.

Tom Heath
And we got music after that. Monday morning, 7 a.m. paleo Dave brings us back with the, the scrambled sunrise and, kicks off the week there. And if you haven’t listened to Scramble Sunrise, it’s on every day Monday through Friday. Seven and I volunteer paleo Dave. The music is fantastic. I love his playlists. He always finds just really, quality, quality music that, I learned a lot from.

Tom Heath
But I listen for the breaks because when Dave is talking, when paleo Dave is chatting, he’s having conversations with himself and they are just very fun, entertaining, enlightening, and a little self-deprecating at times. But, I enjoy those so you can check out the whole lineup on Downtown Radio, dawg. And, you know, I challenge you to find something new that’s new.

Tom Heath
Find something you haven’t listened to, something that you find, maybe you don’t know much about. And we got shows on anime. We got Tony Franken here doing jazz. We’ve got surf music. We’ve got the Arizona for one one with all Arizona made music. You heard the intro earlier for Radio Club Crawl and the talks about all the, the bands coming to, to play here locally during the week.

Tom Heath
Not only does he talk about the bands, but he plays their music so you can get a sense of what you might, might explore when you’re out and about hitting the clubs. So Brother Marcus spent a lot of time on that to, to put those together. All kinds of shows. Monday, Monday to Monday, every day of the week.

Tom Heath
There’s something cool out there, so check it out. Downtown radio.org. As for life along a streetcar, if there’s something out there you want us to cover, you got to let us know you’re listening to a show that covers a very short part of Tucson. Occasionally we take that road trip out, of our footprint. But for the most part, we’re that urban core about the University of Arizona.

Tom Heath
So if you’re listening to this show, then you’re in tune with our community. You should only be listening if Tucson means something to you or you trying to find out about Tucson. So if you have thoughts, questions, or you know someone doing great work in our community, let us know. Collaboration is a key, for, for us to have an impactful dialog about what is going on.

Tom Heath
You can reach us directly, contact at life along the streetcar.org. You can connect with us on the, social medias, mainly Facebook and Instagram. I think that’s the only two that we have. And please check those out. Since we, we’ve been working in the show Source Studios, we do a lot of video of, of these podcasts.

Tom Heath
The videos are doing well, and we’re putting shorts up on Instagram, getting really good traction with those. So I would definitely like to have more, more, more people sharing that out there in the world. Anyway, enough for me rambling. I would like to remind you that, James Portus is our executive producer. Amanda Maltose is our associate producer.

Tom Heath
Brittany Battle was our guest host today. My name is Tom Heath, and it’s quite possibly my turn to be your backup host. If, this keeps going with Brittany. Our opening music is by Ryan Hood and got fired up listening to Brittany and Ricky. So we’re going to end the show today with the University of Arizona’s marching band, recorded back in 2008.

Tom Heath
It’s Bear Down Arizona. Have a great week and, hope you join us next Sunday for more life along the street. Car.