Remembering Frank Beckmann
• Detroit sports broadcasting legend Frank Beckmann, best known for his 48-year career with Cumulus News-Talk 760 WJR until his retirement in March 2021, and as the play-by-play voice of Michigan football for 33 years has died at the age of 72. According to the Detroit Free Press, Beckmann had been battling vascular dementia and had suffered several recent strokes.
Frank Carl Beckmann grew up in Detroit and Warren, MI and began his 52-year broadcasting career in 1969 in Alpena, MI as a one-man news staff. After stints at WKNR-AM and WDRQ-FM/Detroit, Beckmann joined the news staff at 760 WJR-AM in 1972. By 1975, he moved over to the WJR sports department and also called Pistons and Red Wings games. He was later named Sports Director, and hired George Blaha as Pistons announcer. In 1979, he joined the Lions’ radio team as Bob Reynolds‘ analyst and replaced the retiring Reynolds as the Lions play-by-play voice in 1983.
Beckmann is the only person to broadcast games for all four of Detroit’s major sports teams and created Detroit’s first Sports-Talk show, Sportswrap, in 1981. Beckmann was named Michigan Sportscaster of The Year in 1992, 1994 and 1995 and in 2007 was inducted into the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame. Beckmann was also inducted into the Michigan Associations of Broadcasters Hall of Fame, and the VIP Mentoring Coaches Challenge Hall of Fame. In 2014, he received the Chris Schenkel Award by the National Football Foundation, making him a member of the College Football Hall of Fame. Over the course of his storied career, Beckmann has also helped raise tens of millions of dollars for Detroit area charities.
Beckmann’s longtime Michigan football broadcasting partner, Jim Brandstatter, said of Beckmann, “When you look at his broadcasting career, he was as versatile as anyone I’ve known in this business. He was able to do news talk, political talk, football and baseball play by play, and knew golf as well anyone. Everything he did, he did extremely well. There aren’t too many guys who could wear so many hats and have them fit so well.”
Another Michigan legend, Art Vuolo was a longtime friend of Frank Beckmann. In addition to a heartfelt video tribute he produced, Art also appeared on Detroit’s Fox 2 to share his thoughts about Beckmann’s long career.
Beckmann is survived by his wife Karen, their children John and Tori Kughn, and three grandchildren.
