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RIP, Ron Franklin

shadow_operative2.0

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10 hours ago, Par4 said:

That is a gut punch. Ron Franklin was the voice of college football for me, more so than Keith Jackson at the time. Jackson may have called the bigger games, but Franklin called "my" games. His son was a UT student when I was there furthering our claim to him. Non of this ESPN favoritism, we always had Ron Franklin on our side. 

 

This is me as well.  Keith Jackson as always doing the Pac 10 or Big 10 GOTW and we had Ron Franklin.  I don't think we got the short end of the stick on that one. 

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hobbs

hobbs 243

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8 hours ago, Marshall_Lucky said:

https://youtu.be/7lhZZX6eVTg

The one minute mark is a classic Ron Franklin call. Butch Hadnot was a bad, bad man.

He really was great and my all-time favorite as well.  Met him once and he could not have been nicer.  Also, he loved Earl and graciously came to Tyler to emcee the Campbell Award dinner.

Link is also a cool reminder of how awesome that UH crowd was...crazy/fun night.

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BillVol

BillVol 16

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Tennessee fan here.  I've enjoyed the comments about Ron Franklin.  I had forgotten why he got fired from ESPN, but wow.  I guess an early victim of cancel culture.  On Tennessee's 100th anniversary of having a football team, we somehow got Ron to narrate this two-part special on our football history.  BTW the script calls for him to refer to us as UT.  I have other things to worry about than who is the real UT.  When people do a poll on that, I always say Toledo.  It's long been on the bucket list to see a game in Austin.  Hopefully that will happen sooner than later.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LjCPlflS4Ko

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1FD8E_HYq9I

 

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Nivek

Nivek 16859

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Ron gave me the time, his advice, and career guidance that took me from a weekend intern at KXAN to a full time producer for ABC Sports and ESPN in less than five years.
Always enjoyed those occasions when I’’d bump into him in a press box or locker room somewhere. He was a very kind man. RIP. 
 

So, espn is your fault!
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Texzilla58

Texzilla58 4717

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So sorry to hear this news. My football memories are carved into my brain by the great broadcasters who called them. Pat Summerall, Brad Sham, Al Michaels, Frank Glieber, Jim McKay and others. They had to speak melodiously, tell stories on point, know their shit, and make it sound effortless and conversational.

I worked in radio in high school and college in Memphis TN. Did news, lots of production, some on air work. As a junior in high school I was told on a Friday afternoon that our sports crew was sick and I had to call a HS football game. No prep. No program or roster. It was horrible and fortunately we had zero ratings but it was the hardest thing I ever did. Props to those who can barely do it and highest praise for those that can do it great.

Ron Franklin is a broadcasting giant. It’s a shame we’re losing them all.

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UTCzech III

UTCzech III 2901

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Three titans of Houston broadcasting, Ron Stone, Dave Ward, Ron Franklin

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These guys were like brothers to me. It was a unique situation as we each came from competing television networks. For 20-weeks of the year, we were together almost every weekend as the Oilers radio crew. We did this for 10-years and they were some of the best times of my life.

 

ward.jpg

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Armybrat

Armybrat 40744

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1 hour ago, Texzilla58 said:

I worked in radio in high school and college in Memphis TN. Did news, lots of production, some on air work. As a junior in high school I was told on a Friday afternoon that our sports crew was sick and I had to call a HS football game. No prep. No program or roster. It was horrible and fortunately we had zero ratings but it was the hardest thing I ever did. Props to those who can barely do it and highest praise for those that can do it great.

Ron Franklin is a broadcasting giant. It’s a shame we’re losing them all.

This hits close to the press box. Been there, done that when I was told to be the stadium announcer for games at Giddings HS 55 years ago. Got the hang of it by the second season, even though we din’t have any spoters to assist me.

RIP Ron.

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Dennis Taylor

Dennis Taylor 18706

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9 hours ago, DalTxHornFan said:

RIP, Ron Franklin.  Inspires me to recall Dave South's radio call of 2011 27-25 Longhorn victory over aggy!

This never ever fails to make me laugh  ..such expert football analysis.  "They're rushing him"...oh do you think so Gomer? The field goal to decide the game, they're going to try to block it? Holy shit, that's crazy!

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Paul Wesley

Paul Wesley 3277

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I grew up in Houston area and remember him well.  

He was a fantastic broadcaster.  He clearly had a good understanding for the game, affection for the coaches and players (and appreciation for their often-overlooked home towns), and he added just the right amount of enthusiasm to his calls.  He came across as folksy but still dignified.

It's sad to think how UT television broadcasts have fallen from the gravitas of Ron Franklin to the over-excited gibberish of no-talent Lowell Galindo.  

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83Horn

83Horn 1638

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1 hour ago, UTCzech III said:

Three titans of Houston broadcasting, Ron Stone, Dave Ward, Ron Franklin

 

ward.jpg

Great picture.  Growing up in Houston in the '70s, these were the local news guys I grew up listening to.  Didn't realize how good we had it in Houston until I got to UT, and had to listen to the local Austin "talent", like the ABC affiliate sports guy; I think his name was Ben Storey.  He'd make Lowell Galindo sound like Keith Jackson.  RIP to Ron...both of them.

Edited by 83Horn
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yoladu

yoladu 4067

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14 hours ago, Porterhouse said:

He was a great man - a great man - and lived in Austin I believe until his death. Super good person, and the best announcer for CFB of my youth / early adulthood. I loved him. RIP, Sweetheart. 

He did. Would see him at Tarrytown UMC often.

13 hours ago, Wild Bill said:

That sucks. Perfect voice for college football.

Speaking of that, he would often do a reading from the pulpit during Sunday Service. His voice would just bring back all those football memories as he spoke. Like a warm comfortable blanket.

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cafe society

cafe society 2841

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1 hour ago, 83Horn said:

Great picture.  Growing up in Houston in the '70s, these were the local news guys I grew up listening to.  Didn't realize how good we had it in Houston until I got to UT, and had to listen to the local Austin "talent", like the ABC affiliate sports guy; I think his name was Ben Storey.  He'd make Lowell Galindo sound like Keith Jackson.  RIP to Ron...both of them.

Ben Storey was an abomination.  And Hugh Lewis was the weekend anchor.  Tweedledumb and Tweedledumber.  I never met Lewis, but I met Storey once and he was just as dumb in person.  He bragged about what a great academic institution ASU was.  I seem to recall him getting into a pissing match with Coach Lemons and Abe just tore him a new asshole.

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Make em eat Taco Bell

Make em eat Taco Bell 1549

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8 hours ago, MirrOlure said:

Favorite part of any Ron Franklin broadcast of any game, anywhere was that if a kid from Texas made a play, he’d always call out their High School/Hometown.

People probably thought “…from Refugio” was part of Willie Mack Garza’s formal name.

was just going to post the same.  Even it was a Pac12 game, he'd mention the Texas player, HS and hometown.  Only we Texans knew why. 

Many years ago I worked with his son, a 6'5" 5A HS player, who had stories of meeting sports legends and often getting momentos such as game worn Oiler jerseys.

Too bad Mr. Franklin, an Ole Miss grad, and ESPN parted ways as I was looking forward to him broadcasting the Ole Miss - Texas game a few years ago. He would have been the most perfect person on Earth for that assignment. 

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BachelorTrek

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15 hours ago, pch said:

As a child growing up in the late 50's, it was always Kern Tips doing the Humble radio broadcast of the SWC games. Used to watch the SWC highlight films he narrated whenever it rained and we couldn't go outside for PE.  I never expected there to be another announcer who could put you at the stadium through his broadcast like Kern Tips, but Ron Franklin became that voice for me on the radio and television.  RIP to one of the true legends of broadcasting.

Yeah, Jeff Ward found and played some clips of Kern Tips' Texas game radio calls back when Jeff was just starting out doing his daily sports talk radio show on AM 1300 here in Austin, which must have been in '89 or the '90s. That was a distinctive voice Tips had, too.

I still remember the good broadcasters Texas had doing radio, like the years Brad Sham did Texas football (and sometimes basketball) radio while still doing Dallas Cowboys game radio on Sundays, and his unique names for great plays that he would then use again during the same game, like the (offensive lineman) "Scott Gooch screen," and other unique sayings.

And then there was The Mistake of giving the Texas radio play-by-play broadcasting duties to Jerry Trupiano, who always broadcasted Texas games like he was uninterested in the games and didn't want to be in the booth broadcasting them. How he was the Texas radio play-by-play voice at all, much less multiple years doing it, I'll never understand.

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Deej

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5 hours ago, cafe society said:

Ben Storey was an abomination.  And Hugh Lewis was the weekend anchor.  Tweedledumb and Tweedledumber.  I never met Lewis, but I met Storey once and he was just as dumb in person.  He bragged about what a great academic institution ASU was.  I seem to recall him getting into a pissing match with Coach Lemons and Abe just tore him a new asshole.

I still miss Abe. 

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pyrohornIII

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48 minutes ago, BachelorTrek said:

Yeah, Jeff Ward found and played some clips of Kern Tips' Texas game radio calls back when Jeff was just starting out doing his daily sports talk radio show on AM 1300 here in Austin, which must have been in '89 or the '90s. That was a distinctive voice Tips had, too.

I still remember the good broadcasters Texas had doing radio, like the years Brad Sham did Texas football (and sometimes basketball) radio while still doing Dallas Cowboys game radio on Sundays, and his unique names for great plays that he would then use again during the same game, like the (offensive lineman) "Scott Gooch screen," and other unique sayings.

And then there was The Mistake of giving the Texas radio play-by-play broadcasting duties to Jerry Trupiano, who always broadcasted Texas games like he was uninterested in the games and didn't want to be in the booth broadcasting them. How he was the Texas radio play-by-play voice at all, much less multiple years doing it, I'll never understand.

And now we have Lowell Galindo.  FML.  

Having grown up with Wally Pryor on the PA and Ron Franklin doing play by play, add in Cosell, Meredith and Gifford, and then Madden coming along, it really makes me wonder where it went off the tracks.  Those guys were awesome, made the games more personal, and now all we have is garble, garble dumb crap.  Sigh.  Has the game changed?  The fans?  Or the networks follow too much of a profile and we have to just accept them?   

We'll miss you Mr Franklin.  Thanks for the memories.

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bullet

bullet 1596

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1 hour ago, BachelorTrek said:

So, an okie, a guy from Huntsville, Texas, and a guy from Mississippi walk into a Houston bar........  Lulz.

Geez, Dave looks like a teenager. 

Used to see Ward regularly at the restaurants/cafeterias off Bissonnet (Channel 13 was there) in the 90s and 00s.  Seemed like he was taking dinner between newscasts.

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torre

torre 1284

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RIP Ron !    Thanks for the great memories.

Excerpts from AAS story.   ESPN taking the low road.   As all know,  normally ESPN makes mention of a former colleague's passing and has a photo and moment of silence.  Some so obscure no one knows them   Perhaps they will tonight on the SVP show which is very late due to the NBA game.

 

Franklin died Tuesday in Austin due to what doctors termed COVID-19 related pneumonia, his wife Bonnie told the American-Statesman on Wednesday. He was 79.

“He was maybe the best radio football guy I’ve ever heard,” said Tom Dorr, who was an analyst alongside Franklin for one season in the 1980s. “But he really knew the game of football exceptionally well and he was able to tell that story.

“I thought he was able to paint that picture, tell that story so well on radio and give you a real sense of what was going on,” Dorr added. “Man, he loved Texas. Absolutely to the top of his lungs, Ron loved UT and UT sports.”

“Ron Franklin was a longtime partner of mine at ESPN, and we ended our time there as good friends and colleagues,” Rowe said Wednesday. “He was a unique talent and made college football better for viewers.”

Said Bonnie Franklin: “He really respected her. He used to say Holly really does her homework.”

 

But Franklin was fired just before the Fiesta Bowl in January 2011 for allegedly calling sideline reporter Jeannine Edwards a “sweet baby” and using an expletive. Franklin later sued the network for wrongful termination in Travis County. His lawyer said Franklin’s comments were the result of Edwards cutting into a private conversation.

Franklin issued a statement on Jan. 3, 2011. “I said some things I shouldn't have and am sorry. I deserved to be taken off the Fiesta Bowl.” Franklin and the network agreed to an out-of-court settlement. Reached on Wednesday, an ESPN spokesman said the network had no comment about Franklin’s passing

“So sorry to hear of the death of Ron Franklin,” Edwards tweeted Wednesday. “He had some quirks, but loved sports, talking sports, living sports. He was a pro.... prepared meticulously and was great at what he did. RIP Ron.”

https://www.hookem.com/story/sports/football/2022/01/19/ron-franklin-obituary-texas-longhorns-radio-sports-announcer-dies-covid/6584061001/

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ImissWallyPryor

ImissWallyPryor 9045

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Nothing but Ron Franklin’s undying love for The University of Texas can explain why he allowed Bellmont to strip him of his dignity by narrating these two gems.

Note the perfectly choreographed toe tap to the love song at the end of this gem…

Cringy choice of music in this one, too. It has the stench of Bill Little all over it…

John Hagy (mullet at the beginning) had one of the great lines about aggy. It went something like, “My neighbors (in SA) were aggy. They were weird. Their kids were weird.”

Sounds like the Hagy family lived two doors down from me. 

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BachelorTrek

BachelorTrek 2937

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1 hour ago, ImissWallyPryor said:

Nothing but Ron Franklin’s undying love for The University of Texas can explain why he allowed Bellmont to strip him of his dignity by narrating these two gems.

Note the perfectly choreographed toe tap to the love song at the end of this gem…

Cringy choice of music in this one, too. It has the stench of Bill Little all over it…

John Hagy (mullet at the beginning) had one of the great lines about aggy. It went something like, “My neighbors (in SA) were aggy. They were weird. Their kids were weird.”

Sounds like the Hagy family lived two doors down from me. 

I'll never forget Hagy for all of his defensive play at Safety, but also a low line-drive punt return TD against Tech here in Austin.

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Muny_Tex

Muny_Tex 292

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RIP…always a big fan of his voice/style/image.

I think that Nebraska game where Jamaal went wild was one of Ron’s last UT broadcasts.

I remember being happy for JC, but also annoyed at further proof of how badly he was under utilized; which made him leave for NFL too early with a shitty draft pick. Obviously worked out ok for him with a monster pro career, but he should’ve been a superstar the moment VY departed.




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