Cy Bahakel

Cy Nesbe Bahakel (April 12, 1919 – April 20, 2006) was an American <a href="/facts/Politician/JGSyT9DD">politician</a>. He was a <a href="/facts/North_Carolina/VhKNTULI">North Carolina</a> state <a href="/facts/North_Carolina_Senate/aK8a9Rfn">senator</a> and a media magnate. He was a member of the <a href="/facts/Democratic_Party_(United_States)/MNe3nDrL">Democratic Party</a>. His son-in-law is former US Representative <a href="/facts/Robert_Pittenger/xDCpQzE5">Robert Pittenger</a> (R-NC).
Bahakel was born to a poor <a href="/facts/Lebanon/2dReTXyp">Lebanese</a> family in <a href="/facts/Birmingham%2c_Alabama/gQB3RGPA">Birmingham, Alabama</a> on April 12, 1919. He helped pay his way through <a href="/facts/University_of_Alabama_School_of_Law/hknp2nJm">University of Alabama School of Law</a> by doing sports play-by-play and other announcing duties at <a href="/facts/Tuscaloosa%2c_Alabama/9CXKKjf2">Tuscaloosa's</a> <a href="/facts/WJRD/e6SyJL5Y">WJRD</a> radio, a sideline that made him question his goals to become a lawyer. He practiced law for six months, but the lure of the microphone was too strong. He and a friend put up $12,500 each and launched <a href="/facts/WKOZ/BaT5ka58">WKOZ</a>, a radio station in <a href="/facts/Kosciusko%2c_Mississippi/hfkLATU9">Kosciusko, Mississippi</a>. Within a year, Bahakel bought out his partner and found that one of the best investments in business was an hour spent talking to customers over a cup of coffee. He went on to build radio stations from scratch in <a href="/facts/Greenwood%2c_Mississippi/Ha2SytJ6">Greenwood, Mississippi</a>, <a href="/facts/Kingsport%2c_Tennessee/pArFkczN">Kingsport, Tennessee</a>, and <a href="/facts/Roanoke%2c_Virginia/ndubIcER">Roanoke, Virginia</a>. One of his larger-market radio purchases was <a href="/facts/WDOD-FM/6uWBTrjS">WDOD-FM</a>, Chattanooga and its now-defunct counterpart, WDOD, and later <a href="/facts/WDEF_(AM)/KPE2uWly">WDEF</a> and <a href="/facts/WDEF-FM/wyJADaSL">WDEF-FM</a>, also Chattanooga, all still owned by Bahakel Communications. As the era of <a href="/facts/Television/X4YG5nT1">television</a> dawned in the 1950s, Bahakel tried his hand in this new fad as well, and founded WABG-TV in <a href="/facts/Greenwood%2c_Mississippi/Ha2SytJ6">Greenwood</a>, the <a href="/facts/Mississippi_Delta/fFJLMN5t">Mississippi Delta</a>'s first TV station, in 1959. Bahakel later acquired stations in <a href="/facts/Charlotte%2c_North_Carolina/JVJT5LzT">Charlotte, North Carolina</a>, <a href="/facts/Columbia%2c_South_Carolina/KaG0e4KW">Columbia, South Carolina</a> (<a href="/facts/WOLO-TV/V8RVItT1">WCCA-TV</a>), and <a href="/facts/Montgomery%2c_Alabama/vHKx3dzU">Montgomery, Alabama</a>.
Bahakel was instrumental in bringing the <a href="/facts/Charlotte_Hornets/6w8x9cdM">Charlotte Hornets</a> <a href="/facts/National_Basketball_Association/Vd3EUFfa">National Basketball Association</a> franchise to Charlotte in 1987. He was a primary investor in the team and was the guarantor of the $32 million loan for the franchise fee to bring the team to Charlotte.
Bahakel ran unsuccessfully as a <a href="/facts/United_States_Democratic_Party/MNe3nDrL">Democrat</a> for the <a href="/facts/U.S._House_of_Representatives/cdBPb9pY">U.S. House of Representatives</a> in 1970, losing to incumbent <a href="/facts/United_States_Republican_Party/XXM1EVPr">Republican</a> <a href="/facts/Charles_R._Jonas/oSUFWmzI">Charles R. Jonas</a>.<a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20061114100113/http://clerk.house.gov/members/electionInfo/1970election.pdf">[1]</a>
Bahakel served in the <a href="/facts/North_Carolina_Senate/aK8a9Rfn">North Carolina Senate</a> from 1972 until 1976.
Bahakel died at his home in <a href="/facts/Charlotte%2c_North_Carolina/JVJT5LzT">Charlotte</a> on April 20, 2006, at the age of 87. He is survived by his wife, six children, and five grandchildren.

Cy Bahakel open-in-new

Cy Bahakel