Pete Franklin
Pete Franklin (September 22, 1927 – November 23, 2004), nicknamed "The King", "Sweet Pete" and "Pigskin Pete", was an American
Early life and career
Franklin was born September 22, 1927, in
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 to 11 PM, after which he hosted a multi-subject talk show from midnight until 5 AM.[8]
WWWE in Cleveland
The zenith of Franklin's career came when he hosted Sportsline on 50,000-watt Cleveland AM station
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 feuded with team owner Ted Stepien. Franklin and Cavaliers' radio voice Joe Tait openly questioned Stepien's ability to operate the team after multiple poor trades and unwise free agent signings leading to a depletion of talent. He went so far as to refer to Stepien again and again by his initials, "T.S.", which Franklin said stood for "Too Stupid." Stepien retaliated by canceling WWWE's radio contract and firing Tait.[12][13][14]
Franklin popularized several regular callers by giving them nicknames like "The Swami", "The Prosecutor", and "Mr. Know-It-All". The latter, Mike Trivisonno, eventually became a radio host and became Franklin's full-time replacement.
Later career
In August 1987, Franklin announced he had been hired by upstart all-sports station WFAN in New York City to be its afternoon host starting the following month. His initial contract with the station was for two years and $600,000.[15] But his act wore thin in the Big Apple, where critics and callers alike disliked his condescending style.[16] 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."[17] 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.[18]
He returned to Cleveland and "3WE" immediately afterward. The station even held a press conference to herald his homecoming, but management dropped him after a year.[19] He moved west, working at KNBR 680 AM in San Francisco from 1991 to 1997 and mostly hosting his own show.[20] He revived his "Winners and Losers of the Day" in sports, and his "Pigskin Pete Predicts" during the football season from his Cleveland days. He later joined Bob Fitzgerald as co-hosts of The King and The Kid.[21]
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, and finished his broadcasting career there in 2000.[22]
His book entitled You Could Argue But You'd Be Wrong was published in 1988.[23]
Death
Pete Franklin died on November 23, 2004, at age 77 in Nipomo, California, after a long illness.[24][25][26][27]
Notes
References
- Dolgan, Bob. "Pete Franklin, the ultimate Cleveland sports talker: Life Stories Revisited", Cleveland Plain Dealer, 10 December 2004, reprinted 2 June 2011 (retrieved 6 June 2011).
- New York Times, "SPORTS PEOPLE; Franklin Joins WFAN", 21 August 1987 (retrieved 6 June 2011).
- Pluto, Terry. "Pete first, last word in sports; Franklin was pioneer in talk radio", Akron Beacon-Journal, 10 December 2004.
- SFGate.com, "Former KNBR talk-show host Franklin dead at 76", 10 December 2004 (retrieved 6 June 2011).
- Taaffe, William. "The Mouth That Always Roars", Sports Illustrated, 22 November 1982 (retrieved 28 August 2019).
- Tucker, Ken. Radio Monitor, "Sports Talk Pioneer Pete Franklin Dead At 77", 11 December 2004 (retrieved 6 June 2011).
- Vecsey, George. "SPORTS TO THE TIMES; Mad Dog Is A Preppie!", New York Times, 2 February 1991 (retrieved 6 June 2011).