Sports talk radio still was in its infancy in 1989 when Mark Mason, then the program director at WFAN, proposed a seemingly outrageous solution to an early problem at the first 24-hour sports station:

Teaming Mike Francesa and Chris Russo as a replacement in afternoon drive time for controversial host Pete Franklin, a big-name hire for WFAN when it debuted two years earlier.

Francesa had been around since ‘87, known more as an information man than a personality. Russo was all personality, and got wide exposure from appearances on Don Imus’ morning show.

The show originally was heard from 3 to 7 p.m., but its start time later was moved to 2 and then 1 p.m. Beginning in 2002, it received additional exposure via simulcast on the new YES Network.

Francesa, now 54, and Russo, 48, moved into the prime slot just as WFAN was beginning to take off - one year after moving from 1050 to 660 on the AM dial and adding Imus. And it was not long before the show became a major attraction for the budding sports talk powerhouse.

It eventually rose to No.1 in the market among men ages 25-54, the station’s key demographic target, earning its hosts millions of dollars and wide influence over the local sports media agenda.

Over the years, their contrasting personalities became well established: Francesa as a supremely confident know-it-all, Russo as his goofy, energetic sidekick, often mispronouncing or misusing words.

Listeners came to know their disparate areas of interest and expertise, such as Francesa’s love of horse racing and Russo’s of tennis.

Both admittedly knew little about hockey, and both were known for their fixations on baseball.

Their relationship rose and fell as frequently as the fortunes of the local teams they chronicled.

The early years were particularly contentious, including a 1992 incident in which Russo intentionally omitted Francesa’s first name when welcoming listeners to the show, angering his partner.

In recent years, the two seemed to disagree less frequently on the air, and to get along better off it.

Often they were on the same side of controversial issues, such as their criticism in 2006 of Billy Wagner, the Mets’ new closer, for entering games to “Enter Sandman” - the same theme music as the Yankees’ Mariano Rivera.

The hosts angered many sports figures over the years, including simultaneous feuds with the Giants’ Tiki Barber, Michael Strahan and Jeremy Shockey when they were the team’s three biggest stars.

In the spring of 2007, they again were on the same side of a controversy, lambasting MSNBC and their own employers, CBS Radio, for firing Imus in the wake of comments about the Rutgers women’s basketball team that many regarded as racist and sexist.

Francesa and Russo remained loyal to Imus, who famously nicknamed them “Fatso and Froot Loops” during his time at WFAN.

Imus’ departure left the afternoon hosts as the unquestioned stars of the station, and a critical part of its revenue stream.

This year, though, their relationship soured again, leading to several weeks during which they openly feuded on and off the air.

Each agreed to act more professionally when called together in early May by operations manager Mark Chernoff. But Newsday reported June 22 that the show likely would end by Labor Day. Five days later, Francesa acknowledged the show was at a “crossroad.”

“I think we should take a step back for a second and be proud of the fact that he and I, despite our battles sometimes over 19 years, put together one of the great shows in radio history,” Francesa said last night. “It is something I’ll be proud of for the rest of my life.”

Said Russo last night: “I loved that show.”

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