He was pre-Rush. I remember listening to Rush in the late 80s when he first came to NY, and the callers being rude to him.
Rush even mentioned it in his first book. It was because the NY audience was so used to arguing with Bob Grant they didn't know how to handle a talk show host that was respectful to the callers who disagreed with him.
I used to listen to Bob when he was on late at night and I was in H.S. I thought it was hilarious the way he would call people "sickola" and "creep", Bob would get really rude at times.
Gradually though his conservative views started making sense to me. In a way Bob Grant would say the things I could imagine my father and uncles saying. I think Bob really got me into talk radio and conservativism.
Growing up in the 80s -Reagan, Grant, Thatcher, Miracle on Ice- forged me for life. Carter helped as well by showing what a disaster a moronic leftist could be.