Pete Franklin
Encyclopedia
Pete Franklin nicknamed "The King" and "Pigskin Pete", was an American sports talk radio host who worked in Cleveland
, New York and San Francisco
. He is widely credited with pioneering the more aggressive, acerbic and attention-grabbing form of the genre, which has since been adopted by generations of sports media personalities, and bringing it to a multi-national listening audience.
. His first broadcasting job was for Armed Forces Radio, and his first radio station job was in 1952 in Oakdale, Louisiana
. "I worked 70 hours a week, and my main job was to get to the station early and kill the snakes with a baseball bat," he said of his Louisiana assignments. "They came out of the swamp to the heat of the generator. And I read the farm news. The glamour of show business."
He later worked at radio stations in North Carolina
, Georgia
, New Jersey
, California
and Texas
, often as a disc jockey
. He worked as operations director for WOIO
in Canton, Ohio
, before moving to WERE
1300 AM in Cleveland in 1967 to host a sports talk show from 7 pm to 11 pm after which he hosted a multi subject talk show from midnight until 5 am.
("3WE") 1100-AM (eventually renamed WTAM) from 1972 to 1987. Arguably the most popular host on the station, Franklin was popular based on his extensive knowledge, his opinionated attitude, his gruff demeanor and his rude banter toward callers. Among his trademarks were playing the sound of a flushing toilet after hanging up on a caller, playing of funeral music when he deemed the Indians'
season to be over (giving them a "proper burial", usually in mid-summer given the poor quality of the Indians' team during that time), his running series of the winner and the loser of the day, and boasting that his station’s nighttime signal could be heard "over 38 states and half of Canada" (a claim still stated on-air by hosts on WTAM to this day).
His caustic personality was a primary reason why "3WE" lost its status as the flagship station of the NBA
's Cleveland Cavaliers
in 1981 when he developed a feud with team owner Ted Stepien
. Franklin and Cavaliers' radio voice Joe Tait
openly questioned Stepien's ability to operate the team following a series poor trades, unwise free agent signings and a depletion of talent. Franklin went so far as to continually refer to Stepien by his initials, "T.S.", which Franklin said stood for "Too Stupid." (Ultimately, the NBA itself agreed with this assessment, seizing operational control of the franchise from Stepien on the grounds he was destroying its financial viability, and instituting what would be known as the "Stepien Rule".) Stepien retaliated both by canceling WWWE's radio contract and firing Tait.
in New York to be their afternoon host starting in September 1987. His initial contract with the station was for two years and paid him $600,000. Franklin's act wore thin in the Big Apple, where critics and callers alike disapproved of his condescending style. New York Times columnist George Vecsey wrote that Franklin was a "so-called big name ... whose specialty was hurling insults at fans who knew vastly more than he did." After much controversy and dismal ratings he resigned in July 1989, two months before the end of his contract, and was replaced by the Mike and the Mad Dog
program.
Franklin made a return to Cleveland and "3WE" in 1989. The station even held a press conference to herald his homecoming, but management dropped him after a year. He moved west, working at KNBR
680 AM in San Francisco from 1991 to 1997, and hosting his own show for much of that stint. Franklin's featured bits included "Winners and Losers of the Day" for daily sports happenings, while during football season he reprised "Pigskin Pete Predicts" from his Cleveland days. He later joined Bob Fitzgerald
as co-hosts of The King and The Kid.
Franklin returned for a third time to the WTAM airwaves in 1998, briefly hosting Sportsline but from a studio in his California home. He joined KNBR's sister station KTCT 1050 AM in 1999, finishing his broadcasting career there in 2000.
Franklin was the author of a 1988 book, You Could Argue But You'd Be Wrong.
after a long illness at age 77. He was survived by his wife, Pat, and two children.
Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...
, New York and San Francisco
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
. He is widely credited with pioneering the more aggressive, acerbic and attention-grabbing form of the genre, which has since been adopted by generations of sports media personalities, and bringing it to a multi-national listening audience.
Early Life and Career
Franklin was born September 22, 1927 in East Longmeadow, MassachusettsEast Longmeadow, Massachusetts
As of the census of 2010, there were 16,187 people, 5,248 households, and 3,988 families residing in the town. The population density was 1,087.1 people per square mile . There were 5,363 housing units at an average density of 413.5 per square mile...
. His first broadcasting job was for Armed Forces Radio, and his first radio station job was in 1952 in Oakdale, Louisiana
Oakdale, Louisiana
Oakdale is a small city in Allen Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 8,137 at the 2000 census.Oakdale was founded as "Dunnsville" by William T. Dunn...
. "I worked 70 hours a week, and my main job was to get to the station early and kill the snakes with a baseball bat," he said of his Louisiana assignments. "They came out of the swamp to the heat of the generator. And I read the farm news. The glamour of show business."
He later worked at radio stations in North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
, Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
, New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
and Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, often as a disc jockey
Disc jockey
A disc jockey, also known as DJ, is a person who selects and plays recorded music for an audience. Originally, "disc" referred to phonograph records, not the later Compact Discs. Today, the term includes all forms of music playback, no matter the medium.There are several types of disc jockeys...
. He worked as operations director for WOIO
WILB
WILB is an AM radio station in Canton, Ohio, USA, that offers Catholic programming. The station broadcasts daytime only with a power of 5,000 watts on 1060 kHz. Much of the station's programming is supplied by EWTN Radio....
in Canton, Ohio
Canton, Ohio
Canton is the county seat of Stark County in northeastern Ohio, approximately south of Akron and south of Cleveland.The City of Caton is the largest incorporated area within the Canton-Massillon Metropolitan Statistical Area...
, before moving to WERE
WERE
WERE — branded News/Talk 1490 WERE-AM — is a commercial radio station licensed to Cleveland Heights, Ohio broadcasting a news/talk format. The station is owned by Radio One, and has studios at 2510 St. Clair Avenue, while the transmitter is along Euclid Avenue near East 118th Street, adjacent to...
1300 AM in Cleveland in 1967 to host a sports talk show from 7 pm to 11 pm after which he hosted a multi subject talk show from midnight until 5 am.
WWWE in Cleveland
The zenith of Franklin's career came when he hosted Sportsline on 50,000-watt Cleveland AM station WWWEWTAM
WTAM — branded Newsradio WTAM 1100 — is a commercial radio station licensed to Cleveland, Ohio, serving Greater Cleveland and much of surrounding Northeast Ohio. Owned by Clear Channel Communications, the station broadcasts primarily a news/talk format...
("3WE") 1100-AM (eventually renamed WTAM) from 1972 to 1987. Arguably the most popular host on the station, Franklin was popular based on his extensive knowledge, his opinionated attitude, his gruff demeanor and his rude banter toward callers. Among his trademarks were playing the sound of a flushing toilet after hanging up on a caller, playing of funeral music when he deemed the Indians'
Cleveland Indians
The Cleveland Indians are a professional baseball team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. Since , they have played in Progressive Field. The team's spring training facility is in Goodyear, Arizona...
season to be over (giving them a "proper burial", usually in mid-summer given the poor quality of the Indians' team during that time), his running series of the winner and the loser of the day, and boasting that his station’s nighttime signal could be heard "over 38 states and half of Canada" (a claim still stated on-air by hosts on WTAM to this day).
His caustic personality was a primary reason why "3WE" lost its status as the flagship station of the 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...
's Cleveland Cavaliers
Cleveland Cavaliers
The Cleveland Cavaliers are a professional basketball team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They began playing in the National Basketball Association in 1970 as an expansion team...
in 1981 when he developed a feud with team owner Ted Stepien
Ted Stepien
Ted Stepien was the former owner of the National Basketball Association's Cleveland Cavaliers. After becoming wealthy as the founder of Nationwide Advertising Service, Stepien purchased the Cavaliers in the spring of 1980...
. Franklin and Cavaliers' radio voice Joe Tait
Joe Tait
Joseph "Joe" Tait is an American sports broadcaster, who called the radio play by play for the Cleveland Cavaliers of the NBA. With the exception of two seasons in the early 1980s and illness in 2010-11, he has been the Cavaliers' radio announcer since the team's inception in 1970...
openly questioned Stepien's ability to operate the team following a series poor trades, unwise free agent signings and a depletion of talent. Franklin went so far as to continually refer to Stepien by his initials, "T.S.", which Franklin said stood for "Too Stupid." (Ultimately, the NBA itself agreed with this assessment, seizing operational control of the franchise from Stepien on the grounds he was destroying its financial viability, and instituting what would be known as the "Stepien Rule".) Stepien retaliated both by canceling WWWE's radio contract and firing Tait.
Later Career
In August 1987 Franklin announced he had been hired by upstart all-sports station WFANWFAN
WFAN , also known as "Sports Radio 66" or "The FAN", is a radio station in New York City. The station broadcasts on a clear channel and is owned by CBS Radio...
in New York to be their afternoon host starting in September 1987. His initial contract with the station was for two years and paid him $600,000. Franklin's act wore thin in the Big Apple, where critics and callers alike disapproved of his condescending style. New York Times columnist George Vecsey wrote that Franklin was a "so-called big name ... whose specialty was hurling insults at fans who knew vastly more than he did." After much controversy and dismal ratings he resigned in July 1989, two months before the end of his contract, and was replaced by the Mike and the Mad Dog
Mike and the Mad Dog
Mike and the Mad Dog was an afternoon drive sports radio program based out of WFAN in New York City that featured Mike Francesa and Christopher "Mad Dog" Russo talking sports and taking phone calls from listeners. From 2002 onwards the show was simulcasted on the YES Network...
program.
Franklin made a return to Cleveland and "3WE" in 1989. The station even held a press conference to herald his homecoming, but management dropped him after a year. He moved west, working at KNBR
KNBR
KNBR, The Sports Leader, is the on-air branding used by two AM radio stations in the San Francisco, California, area broadcasting a sports radio format, owned by Cumulus Media....
680 AM in San Francisco from 1991 to 1997, and hosting his own show for much of that stint. Franklin's featured bits included "Winners and Losers of the Day" for daily sports happenings, while during football season he reprised "Pigskin Pete Predicts" from his Cleveland days. He later joined Bob Fitzgerald
Bob Fitzgerald
Bob Fitzgerald is a TV play-by-play voice for the Golden State Warriors and San Jose SaberCats on CSN Bay Area, and is a co-host of the show Fitz and Brooks on KNBR with co-host Rod Brooks.-Education:...
as co-hosts of The King and The Kid.
Franklin returned for a third time to the WTAM airwaves in 1998, briefly hosting Sportsline but from a studio in his California home. He joined KNBR's sister station KTCT 1050 AM in 1999, finishing his broadcasting career there in 2000.
Franklin was the author of a 1988 book, You Could Argue But You'd Be Wrong.
Death
Pete Franklin died November 23, 2004 in Nipomo, CaliforniaNipomo, California
Nipomo is a census-designated place in San Luis Obispo County, California, United States. The population was 12,626 at the 2000 census, and grew to 16,714 for the 2010 census.-Geography:Nipomo is located at ....
after a long illness at age 77. He was survived by his wife, Pat, and two children.