Jamie Apody makes first TV appearance after 6abc breakup; WIP call goes off the rails

For 18 years, Jamie Apody was a nightly presence on TV screens across the Delaware Valley as part of 6abc’s Action News team.

Apody reported on everything from the Phillies’ 2008 World Series championship to the Eagles’ 2018 Super Bowl victory. But that relationship ended last month, when Apody and the station officially parted ways following a long, unexplained absence from the airwaves.

Tuesday night, Apody made her first TV appearance since leaving 6abc, though it was just for one night on her former station’s crosstown rival, Fox 29.

“I’ve been in this town a long time. I’ve never stepped foot in this building,” Apody told The Phantastic Sports Show hosts Breland Moore and Jason Martinez.

Despite being pressed repeatedly by Martinez, Apody didn’t reveal much about what led to her departure. She also didn’t make any announcements about her future, noting she’s spent the better part of the past six months folding clothes and having fun with her three children.

“This business is tough, and 18 years is a long time,” Apody said. “It’s longer than my marriage. It’s longer than any relationship I’ve ever had, except for being a daughter to my parents,” Apody said.

6abc has remained quiet about the departure as well, other than a statement from 6abc vice president Thomas Davis expressing his “deep appreciation” for Apody and her contributions to the station. Apody’s former coworkers have also remained quiet, including retired anchor Jim Gardner, a mentor and close friend.

Still, the outpouring of support for Apody from viewers has been loud. Unable to speak about her situation, Apody said she leaned on sharing photos of her family on social media as a way to let fans know she was OK during her long absence from TV.

“It sounds kind of crazy, but it felt like I was watching my own funeral for a while,” Apody said. “You don’t even realize how much you’re appreciated or loved until something like that happens.”

So what’s the next step for Apody? She wouldn’t say, but she did reveal one thing she’s learned in the six months she’s been off the air.

“I’m not cut out to be a stay-at-home mom,” Apody said.

Jumping over to Philly radio, things went off the rails quickly on 94.1 WIP when a caller named “Chuck from Worcester” pulled out the tinfoil hats during discussion about the red-hot Phillies.

Speaking to afternoon hosts Spike Eskin and Ike Reese, Chuck brought up the Phillies’ historic collapse in 1964, when the team blew the National League pennant with just 12 games remaining in the season. But he quickly transitioned to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, and blamed the September release of the Warren Report — which concluded Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone in the shooting — for the Phillies’ losing streak to end the season.

“Chuck, are you a single-bullet theory guy?” Eskin asked as both he and Reese laughed in disbelief.

“I believe there was a conspiracy,” Chuck said. “Jimmy Hoffa definitely supplied the rifles for that thing.”

After admitting he was getting off the track a little bit — “A little bit,” Reese shot back sarcastically — the call concluded with Chuck claiming Eskin had a “double” that frequents Phil’s Tavern in Blue Bell near Ambler.

“That is the greatest call we’ve ever had,” Eskin concluded.

Eskin has been back with WIP a little more than a month, replacing Jon Marks on the station afternoon’s show alongside Reese and Jack Fritz. Marks left in December, and has picked up a job creating content for betPARX. He also hosts his own show on YouTube and other platforms, where he’s frequently joined by Philly sports radio callers like “Chuck from Mount Airy” and “Herb from Northeast Philly.”

» READ MORE: WIP host Glen Macnow is retiring after three decades as a Philly sports talker: ‘It’s time’