WOC eventually closed down when its sister station,WHO of Des Moines, joined an echelon of radio stations with 50,000 watts (only fifteen stations in America had that capability then). Since Reagan had done some sportscasting for the WHO previously on a loan, it offered Reagan a job as sports announcer. He worked there for the next four years, gaining a certain fame across the midwest. Reagan also became adept at ad-libbing because, as was often the custom in the radio business of the day, he "announced" games that he did not attend. Instead of actually calling the play by play from the stadium, Dutch relied on a morse-code ticker tape describing the plays. Adding sound effects and detailed descriptions to the detail-less ticker, Dutch made the games come alive for his listerners.

In 1937, Reagan managed to convince the station that it should pay for him to cover the Chicago Cubs' spring training camp at Catalina Island just off the coast of California. While in California, Dutch has a chance to take a screen test through a talent agent he met. The studio was impressed with "his warmth and his voice." Dutch received an offer from Warner Brothers to join their studio and at 26, in May 1937 he headed for Hollywood.

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