Franklin Mieuli
Encyclopedia
Franklin Mieuli was a San Francisco Bay Area
radio
and television producer
who was best known as the principal owner of the Golden State Warriors
from 1962 to 1986. The pinnacle of his twenty-four years with the franchise
was its National Basketball Association (NBA)
Championship in 1975
. He was also a minority shareholder
in both the San Francisco 49ers
and Giants
.
An eccentric
personality, Mieuli eschewed informal attire
and conservative grooming in favor of a casual
wardrobe and his ever-present full beard
and deerstalker
. His preferred mode of transportation
was the motorcycle
.
of Italian
immigrant
s, was born in San Jose, California
on September 14, 1920. His father
Giacomo and older brother
Jack Jr. owned and operated Navlet's Nursery in the Santa Clara Valley
.
In the early 1950s, Mieuli had been the local promotions man for Burgermeister Beer ("Burgie"). His association with the 49ers led him to land the team's star fullback, Joe "The Jet" Perry
, on his own sports and music radio program, "Both Sides Of The Record," sponsored by Burgie, on R&B-formatted KWBR (1310 AM; later known as KDIA
) beginning in 1954.
Mieuli also produced the 49ers radio broadcasts on KSFO beginning in the 1950s, and produced the first televised 49ers game in 1954. He subsequently produced Giants radio broadcasts, hosted by Russ Hodges
and Lon Simmons
upon the team's move from New York by owner Horace Stoneham
in 1958.
Mieuli was influential in the hiring of sportscaster Bill King
, who initially served as the third man in the Giants broadcast booth in 1958, behind Hodges and Simmons. Upon Mieuli's purchase of the Warriors in 1962, King left Giants radio to become play-by-play voice of the newly minted "San Francisco Warriors". Coincidentally, at the time of Mieuli's purchase of the team, he was still producing the radio broadcasts of both the Giants, 49ers, and the Warriors, for KSFO.
In 1956, Mieuli purchased five reel-to-reel audiotape duplicators from Ampex
for use in distributing sports and music programming to radio stations. The venture led him to create Hi*Speed Duplicating Company, the first business of its kind in Northern California. In 1960, Mieuli produced national radio coverage of the VIII Winter Olympic Games
at Squaw Valley. This was the start of his long-standing radio and television production company, Franklin Mieuli & Associates.
On January 8, 1958, Mieuli was granted a construction permit for a new FM radio station in San Francisco, which went on the air on Thursday, December 10, 1959, as KPUP (106.9 FM); the station is now the FM portion of all-news KCBS
radio's simulcast. Reflecting Mieuli's love for the style of music, KPUP programmed a Jazz
music format, drawing from the rich variety of artists and recordings that were popular at the time, as well as Mieuli's friendship with Saul Zaentz
of Fantasy Records
. (The San Francisco Giants' 1962 season highlights, narrated by Russ Hodges and Lon Simmons and produced by Mieuli, were released on a long-playing record by Fantasy, catalog number GB-1962.)
KPUP's call letters were changed to the jazzier-sounding KHIP in July 1960. In order to help finance his purchase of the Warriors, Mieuli sold KHIP to Leon Crosby in June 1962 for $146,000; Crosby renamed the station KMPX.
headed by Diners Club that purchased the Philadelphia Warriors from Eddie Gottlieb
for $850,000 and moved the ballclub to the Bay Area following the 1961–62 NBA season. After drawing 5,579 per home game in the prior year, the Warriors fell to the bottom of the league in attendance average with 3,067 in 1962–63, its first season in San Francisco. When Diners Club and other stockholders threatened to bail out from the franchise, Mieuli simply purchased their shares until he eventually became the sole owner.
His 24-year ownership of the Warriors was moderately successful on the court, as the team made the playoffs
ten times with three NBA Finals
appearances. The first two trips to the championship series resulted in defeats to the Boston Celtics
in 1964
and the Philadelphia 76ers
in 1967
. The third one in 1975
was a four-game sweep of the Washington Bullets
and still the only time the franchise won the title since its move to the Bay Area. Home attendance was a different story as the Warriors averaged more than 10,000 a game only five times (1976–1979, 1981).
Mieuli played a major role in breaking down racial barriers in the NBA by encouraging his team's front office to sign players regardless of color
. Ten of the twelve players on the Warriors' championship roster during the 1975 Finals were African American
, as was head coach Al Attles
and his assistant Joe Roberts
.
Mieuli sold the Warriors to Jim Fitzgerald
and Daniel Finnane on May 23, 1986.
In 2007, Mieuli was inducted into the Bay Area Radio Hall of Fame as a member of the second class to be honored. He was the recipient of five Super Bowl rings as a part-owner of the 49ers, as well as one NBA Championship trophy as the owner of the Warriors.
His firm, Franklin Mieuli & Associates, continues to produce radio broadcasts for many professional teams in the NFL, NBA, NHL, and Major League Baseball; as well as NCAA teams.
San Francisco Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a populated region that surrounds the San Francisco and San Pablo estuaries in Northern California. The region encompasses metropolitan areas of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, along with smaller urban and rural areas...
radio
Radio producer
A radio producer oversees the making of a radio show. There are two main types of producer. An audio or creative producer and a content producer. Audio producers create sounds and audio specifically, content producers oversee and orchestrate a radio show or feature...
and television producer
Television producer
The primary role of a television Producer is to allow all aspects of video production, ranging from show idea development and cast hiring to shoot supervision and fact-checking...
who was best known as the principal owner of the Golden State Warriors
Golden State Warriors
The Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in Oakland, California. They are part of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association...
from 1962 to 1986. The pinnacle of his twenty-four years with the franchise
Professional sports league organization
Professional sports leagues are organized in numerous ways. The two most significant types are a European model, characterised by a tiered structure using promotion and relegation to determine participation in a hierarchy of leagues or divisions and a North American model characterized by its use...
was its National Basketball Association (NBA)
National Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America. It consists of thirty franchised member clubs, of which twenty-nine are located in the United States and one in Canada...
Championship in 1975
1975 NBA Finals
The 1975 NBA World Championship Series was the championship round of the 1974-75 NBA season of the National Basketball Association. The Golden State Warriors of the Western Conference played against the Washington Bullets of the Eastern Conference...
. He was also a minority shareholder
Shareholder
A shareholder or stockholder is an individual or institution that legally owns one or more shares of stock in a public or private corporation. Shareholders own the stock, but not the corporation itself ....
in both the San Francisco 49ers
San Francisco 49ers
The San Francisco 49ers are a professional American football team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the West Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team was founded in 1946 as a charter member of the All-America Football Conference and...
and Giants
San Francisco Giants
The San Francisco Giants are a Major League Baseball team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the National League West Division....
.
An eccentric
Eccentricity (behavior)
In popular usage, eccentricity refers to unusual or odd behavior on the part of an individual. This behavior would typically be perceived as unusual or unnecessary, without being demonstrably maladaptive...
personality, Mieuli eschewed informal attire
Informal attire
Informal attire, also called international business attire or Western business attire is a dress code, typified by a suit and necktie, for men. On the scale of formality, informal attire is more formal than casual but less formal than semi-formal. It is more presentational than semi-casual, but...
and conservative grooming in favor of a casual
Casual
In the European tradition, casual is the dress code that emphasizes comfort and personal expression over presentation and uniformity. It includes a very wide variety of costume, so it is perhaps better defined by what it isn't than what it is...
wardrobe and his ever-present full beard
Beard
A beard is the collection of hair that grows on the chin, cheeks and neck of human beings. Usually, only pubescent or adult males are able to grow beards. However, women with hirsutism may develop a beard...
and deerstalker
Deerstalker
A deerstalker is a type of hat that is typically worn in rural areas, often for hunting, especially deer stalking. Because of the hat's popular association with Sherlock Holmes, it is also a stereotypical hat of a detective.-Construction:...
. His preferred mode of transportation
Transport
Transport or transportation is the movement of people, cattle, animals and goods from one location to another. Modes of transport include air, rail, road, water, cable, pipeline, and space. The field can be divided into infrastructure, vehicles, and operations...
was the motorcycle
Motorcycle
A motorcycle is a single-track, two-wheeled motor vehicle. Motorcycles vary considerably depending on the task for which they are designed, such as long distance travel, navigating congested urban traffic, cruising, sport and racing, or off-road conditions.Motorcycles are one of the most...
.
Early years
Mieuli, the second sonSon
A son is a male offspring; a boy or man in relation to his parents. The female analogue is a daughter.-Social issues regarding sons:In pre-industrial societies and some current countries with agriculture-based economies, a higher value was, and still is, assigned to sons rather than daughters,...
of Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
immigrant
Immigration
Immigration is the act of foreigners passing or coming into a country for the purpose of permanent residence...
s, was born in San Jose, California
San Jose, California
San Jose is the third-largest city in California, the tenth-largest in the U.S., and the county seat of Santa Clara County which is located at the southern end of San Francisco Bay...
on September 14, 1920. His father
Father
A father, Pop, Dad, or Papa, is defined as a male parent of any type of offspring. The adjective "paternal" refers to father, parallel to "maternal" for mother...
Giacomo and older brother
Sibling
Siblings are people who share at least one parent. A male sibling is called a brother; and a female sibling is called a sister. In most societies throughout the world, siblings usually grow up together and spend a good deal of their childhood socializing with one another...
Jack Jr. owned and operated Navlet's Nursery in the Santa Clara Valley
Santa Clara Valley
The Santa Clara Valley is a valley just south of the San Francisco Bay in Northern California in the United States. Much of Santa Clara County and its county seat, San José, are in the Santa Clara Valley. The valley was originally known as the Valley of Heart’s Delight for its high concentration...
.
In the early 1950s, Mieuli had been the local promotions man for Burgermeister Beer ("Burgie"). His association with the 49ers led him to land the team's star fullback, Joe "The Jet" Perry
Joe Perry (American football)
Fletcher Joseph "Joe" Perry was a professional American football fullback for the San Francisco 49ers from 1948 to 1950 , then 1950 to 1960 when the 49ers were absorbed into the NFL, the Baltimore Colts from 1961–1962, and finally back to the 49ers for his final year in football,...
, on his own sports and music radio program, "Both Sides Of The Record," sponsored by Burgie, on R&B-formatted KWBR (1310 AM; later known as KDIA
KDIA
KDIA is a radio station in Vallejo, California. It is a separate entity from the station at 1310 AM that held the KDIA call letters for many years. The 1640 AM frequency was licensed as part of an extension of the AM band in 1998, and adopted the abandoned KDIA call letters then.-KDIA 1310...
) beginning in 1954.
Mieuli also produced the 49ers radio broadcasts on KSFO beginning in the 1950s, and produced the first televised 49ers game in 1954. He subsequently produced Giants radio broadcasts, hosted by Russ Hodges
Russ Hodges
Russell Patrick Hodges was an American broadcaster who did play-by-play for several baseball teams, most notably the New York and San Francisco Giants.-Early career:...
and Lon Simmons
Lon Simmons
Lon Simmons born on July 19, 1923, in Elko, Nevada, is an American baseball and football broadcaster, and is currently broadcasting part-time for the San Francisco Giants.-Career:...
upon the team's move from New York by owner Horace Stoneham
Horace Stoneham
Horace C. Stoneham was the principal owner of Major League Baseball's New York/San Francisco Giants from the death of his father, Charles Stoneham, in 1936 until 1976. During his ownership, the team won National League pennants in 1936, 1937, 1951, 1954 and 1962, a division title in 1971, and a...
in 1958.
Mieuli was influential in the hiring of sportscaster Bill King
Bill King
* For the British author and games designer see, William King * For the British naval officer, yachtsman and author, see Commander Bill King*For the Australian rugby league footballer, see Bill King ...
, who initially served as the third man in the Giants broadcast booth in 1958, behind Hodges and Simmons. Upon Mieuli's purchase of the Warriors in 1962, King left Giants radio to become play-by-play voice of the newly minted "San Francisco Warriors". Coincidentally, at the time of Mieuli's purchase of the team, he was still producing the radio broadcasts of both the Giants, 49ers, and the Warriors, for KSFO.
In 1956, Mieuli purchased five reel-to-reel audiotape duplicators from Ampex
Ampex
Ampex is an American electronics company founded in 1944 by Alexander M. Poniatoff. The name AMPEX is an acronym, created by its founder, which stands for Alexander M. Poniatoff Excellence...
for use in distributing sports and music programming to radio stations. The venture led him to create Hi*Speed Duplicating Company, the first business of its kind in Northern California. In 1960, Mieuli produced national radio coverage of the VIII Winter Olympic Games
1960 Winter Olympics
The 1960 Winter Olympics, officially known as the VIII Olympic Winter Games, were a winter multi-sport event held between February 18 and 28, 1960 in Squaw Valley, California, United States. In 1955 at the 50th IOC meeting, the organizing committee made the surprise choice to award Squaw Valley as...
at Squaw Valley. This was the start of his long-standing radio and television production company, Franklin Mieuli & Associates.
On January 8, 1958, Mieuli was granted a construction permit for a new FM radio station in San Francisco, which went on the air on Thursday, December 10, 1959, as KPUP (106.9 FM); the station is now the FM portion of all-news KCBS
KCBS (AM)
KCBS is an all-news radio station in San Francisco, California, that is a key West Coast flagship radio station of the CBS Radio Network and Westwood One. Its transmitter is located in Novato, California. KCBS currently has studios on Battery Street, where it shares the location with co-owned KPIX...
radio's simulcast. Reflecting Mieuli's love for the style of music, KPUP programmed a Jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
music format, drawing from the rich variety of artists and recordings that were popular at the time, as well as Mieuli's friendship with Saul Zaentz
Saul Zaentz
Saul Zaentz is an American film producer and former record company executive. He has won the Academy Award for Best Picture three times and in 1996 was awarded the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award....
of Fantasy Records
Fantasy Records
Fantasy Records is a United States-based record label that was founded by Max and Sol Weiss in 1949 in San Francisco, California. They had previously operated a record-pressing plant called Circle Record Company before forming the Fantasy label...
. (The San Francisco Giants' 1962 season highlights, narrated by Russ Hodges and Lon Simmons and produced by Mieuli, were released on a long-playing record by Fantasy, catalog number GB-1962.)
KPUP's call letters were changed to the jazzier-sounding KHIP in July 1960. In order to help finance his purchase of the Warriors, Mieuli sold KHIP to Leon Crosby in June 1962 for $146,000; Crosby renamed the station KMPX.
Golden State Warriors
Mieuli, along with 32 other local investors, was part of a joint ventureJoint venture
A joint venture is a business agreement in which parties agree to develop, for a finite time, a new entity and new assets by contributing equity. They exercise control over the enterprise and consequently share revenues, expenses and assets...
headed by Diners Club that purchased the Philadelphia Warriors from Eddie Gottlieb
Edward Gottlieb
Edward Gottlieb , known as "Mr. Basketball" and "The Mogul", was the first coach and manager of the Philadelphia Warriors in the National Basketball Association , and the former owner and coach of the team from 1951 to 1962...
for $850,000 and moved the ballclub to the Bay Area following the 1961–62 NBA season. After drawing 5,579 per home game in the prior year, the Warriors fell to the bottom of the league in attendance average with 3,067 in 1962–63, its first season in San Francisco. When Diners Club and other stockholders threatened to bail out from the franchise, Mieuli simply purchased their shares until he eventually became the sole owner.
His 24-year ownership of the Warriors was moderately successful on the court, as the team made the playoffs
NBA Playoffs
The National Basketball Association Playoffs is a best-of-seven elimination tournament among sixteen teams in the Eastern Conference and Western Conference , ultimately deciding the final four teams who will play in the NBA Conference Finals.-Format:Following the NBA regular season, eight teams in...
ten times with three NBA Finals
NBA Finals
The NBA Finals is the championship series of the National Basketball Association . The series was named the NBA World Championship Series until 1986....
appearances. The first two trips to the championship series resulted in defeats to the Boston Celtics
Boston Celtics
The Boston Celtics are a National Basketball Association team based in Boston, Massachusetts. They play in the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference. Founded in 1946, the team is currently owned by Boston Basketball Partners LLC. The Celtics play their home games at the TD Garden, which...
in 1964
1964 NBA Finals
The 1964 NBA Finals was the championship series of the 1963-64 National Basketball Association season, and was the conclusion of the 1964 NBA Playoffs. The best-of-seven series was played between the Western Conference champion San Francisco Warriors and the Eastern Conference champion Boston Celtics...
and the Philadelphia 76ers
Philadelphia 76ers
The Philadelphia 76ers are a professional basketball team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They play in the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Basketball Association . Originally known as the Syracuse Nationals, they are one of the oldest franchises in the NBA...
in 1967
1967 NBA Finals
The 1967 NBA Finals was the championship series of the 1966-67 National Basketball Association season, and was the conclusion of the 1967 NBA Playoffs. The best-of-seven series was played between the Western Conference champion San Francisco Warriors and the Eastern Conference champion Philadelphia...
. The third one in 1975
1975 NBA Finals
The 1975 NBA World Championship Series was the championship round of the 1974-75 NBA season of the National Basketball Association. The Golden State Warriors of the Western Conference played against the Washington Bullets of the Eastern Conference...
was a four-game sweep of the Washington Bullets
Washington Wizards
The Washington Wizards are a professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C., previously known as Washington Bullets. They play in the National Basketball Association .-Early years:...
and still the only time the franchise won the title since its move to the Bay Area. Home attendance was a different story as the Warriors averaged more than 10,000 a game only five times (1976–1979, 1981).
Mieuli played a major role in breaking down racial barriers in the NBA by encouraging his team's front office to sign players regardless of color
Race in the United States
The United States is a racially diverse country. Modern issues of "race", as well as its impact in the political and economic development of the nation, have been examined by numerous historians and researchers across a variety of academic disciplines....
. Ten of the twelve players on the Warriors' championship roster during the 1975 Finals were African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
, as was head coach Al Attles
Al Attles
Alvin A. "Al" Attles Jr. is a retired American professional basketball player and coach. He is a graduate of Weequahic High School in Newark and North Carolina A&T State University...
and his assistant Joe Roberts
Joe Roberts (basketball)
Joseph Roberts is an American former professional basketball player. Roberts played for Ohio State University's 1960 NCAA champions, and later played in the NBA for the Syracuse Nationals before going into coaching. Roberts also played with Hall-of-Famers Jerry Lucas, John Havlicek, and Bobby...
.
Mieuli sold the Warriors to Jim Fitzgerald
Jim Fitzgerald
James F. Fitzgerald is an American businessman and philanthropist. He is best known as a former owner of the Milwaukee Bucks and the Golden State Warriors, both NBA teams.-Early life:...
and Daniel Finnane on May 23, 1986.
Later career
Until his death in 2010, Mieuli retained a 10% share of the 49ers, an investment that dates back to 1954. In addition to his role with Franklin Mieuli & Associates, which handles broadcast engineering for thirty pro and college sports teams, he was an active member of the San Francisco chapter of Broadcast Legends, and was inducted into the National Television Academy/Northern California Chapter's Gold Circle in 2006, honoring him for his significant contributions to local television during a career spanning more than fifty years.In 2007, Mieuli was inducted into the Bay Area Radio Hall of Fame as a member of the second class to be honored. He was the recipient of five Super Bowl rings as a part-owner of the 49ers, as well as one NBA Championship trophy as the owner of the Warriors.
His firm, Franklin Mieuli & Associates, continues to produce radio broadcasts for many professional teams in the NFL, NBA, NHL, and Major League Baseball; as well as NCAA teams.