Athletes, coaches, colleagues and lots of listeners post tributes to Michgan radio legend Frank Beckmann, who died Saturday at 72.
Frank Beckmann: "I was truly one of the fortunate ones." (Photo: WJR)
The well-known voice of U-M football for three decades and WJR Radio for nearly a half-century also is recalled with special gratitude by two admirers whose broadcasting dreams he encouraged and guided.
"I wrote him a letter when I was a kid and got one back with some great advice about radio," tweets Mike Kakuk, a talk show host and morning co-host at CKLW in Windsor. (Excerpts from the 1993 letter are below.)
On Beckmann's side of the Detroit River, he was equally gracious 36 years ago to Matt Friedman, an Oakland County fan of his "SportsWrap" interview and talk show.
"I was a freshman in high school," he recalls on Facebook. "Through family connections, a 'shadow day' was set up for me in the 1986 season. I was going to watch Frank call a Lions game, in the broadcast booth."
Friedman, who went on to earn a broadcast journalism degree, started his career at WWJ and worked at three TV stations -- including WDIV -- as a newswriter and producer. He's now co-owner of a Farmington Hills communications agency.
Matt Friedman and Frank Beckmann in 2009. (Photo: Jeff Kowalsky)
His online salute credits Beckmann for a generous spirit and meaningful interaction:
"Frank could have treated me like a privileged kid and just ignored me and let me watch. That would have been fine. But he engaged with me for the whole time, answering all of my many questions, making me feel comfortable and letting me experience everything, including his post-game interviews in the locker room. Everything, that is, but the cigarettes and beer that were press box staples in those days.
"That day was pivotal for me and put me light years ahead of my peers, paving the way for me to do play-by-play of high school games and also cover games in the 1988 and 1989 seasons in the same NFL press box, with my own credentials."
Similarly, Beckmann's full-page letter 29 years ago to Kakuk in Windsor ("Still have it!") includes encouragement, advice to get "a broad-based education" and a reality check about the competitive field.
Mike Kakuk (Photo: Facebook)
"Unfortunately," the broadcaster says in paragraph two, "there are many more graduates in communications curricula than there are jobs available (especially good-paying jobs). I was truly one of the fortunate ones. ... Not many people with my meager credentials [community college degree] get that opportunity anymore."
It addition to being inspired by the same thoughtful pro, the CKLW host and the former news broadcaster share another touchstone.
Friedman, who who called in to Beckmann's sports talk show "more than a few times," posts: "I was hooked. That show probably cost me a few As in high school." And in Windsor, Kakuk recalls: "Homework time was usually accompanied by listening to 'SportsWrap' on WJR Radio."
Kakuk's keepsake letter ends with practical recommendations and a philosophical observation that fits any field:
Part of an Oct. 6, 1993 letter sent across the Detroit River to a young fan. (Photo: Twitter)
