Mitch Thomas
Inducted in the Delaware Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2019
About Mitch Thomas
MITCH THOMAS graduated from Delaware State College and later became the first Black disc jockey in Wilmington, Delaware in 1949 on Wilmington radio station WTUX. In 1952, after serving a tour of duty in the Korean War, Mitch moved to Wilmington radio station WILM and played music from R&B artists. Mitch also had a radio show on Philadelphia’s WDAS, where he worked with Georgie Woods and Jocko Henderson. In 1954 he managed the Five Diamonds, who were 2018 Delaware Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductees. From 1955 to 1958 Mitch hosted a Saturday afternoon teenage television dance show on WPFH Channel 12 in Wilmington, Delaware. It was on The Mitch Thomas Show that the popular dance craze “The Stroll” was invented. Mitch also acted as host for live jazz entertainment at Wilmington’s Club Baby Grand in Wilmington. He can still be heard introducing jazz organist Jimmy Smith on “The Incredible Jimmy Smith at Club Baby Grand, Wilmington Delaware,” which was recorded on August 4, 1956. Mitch left radio broadcasting in 1969 to devote himself to local social work. He was last heard occasionally on radio on Even Steven’s Boptime on Newark radio station WVUD before passing away in February 1999.