Frank Beckmann in hospice care
Sad to see this. Was a great PBP announcer for Michigan Football. Had a chance to meet him in 2004 and had a great convo about Michigan Football. One of the greats! Prayers his family.
Check out this article from The Detroit News:
Retired radio host Frank Beckmann in hospice care, family says
https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/michigan/2022/02/11/retired-radio-host-frank-beckmann-hospice-care-family-says/6756564001/
February 11th, 2022 at 5:07 PM ^
Sorry on iPad and couldn’t figure out the imbed procedure… please forgive me ?
February 11th, 2022 at 5:19 PM ^
Damn. This shit sucks. My wife works in hospice and loves it. But the stories she tells me sometimes are just so sad. Prayers for his family and loved ones. Go Blue!
February 11th, 2022 at 6:11 PM ^
Bless your wife. We need significantly more people than we have to take on the duty to professionally be there at the end of life.
February 11th, 2022 at 6:40 PM ^
It takes a very special person to be able to work in hospice care. I have a friend who is a hospice nurse and she is gold. So grateful for people like your wife.
February 11th, 2022 at 7:29 PM ^
My father in law was a hospice nurse. In a sad twist of fate, he wound up spending his last days in the facility that he worked at before dementia took him. I still miss him.
February 11th, 2022 at 8:26 PM ^
Some people are just made for that. I could never do that job. Your wife is undoubtedly an amazing human being.
February 11th, 2022 at 10:10 PM ^
Thank you all for the kind words! She’s an amazing woman! She was there for my grandpa and was the last person to speak with him. Some people are definitely meant for this work.
February 11th, 2022 at 5:23 PM ^
Damn, this is really sad to hear. He is 72 years old, which the older you get you realize is still too early. Frank was such a great announcer for Michigan Football.
The sound of his voice transports me back to my idyllic childhood growing up in suburban Detroit.
"Shoe laces flapping in the wind!"
Godspeed, Mr. Beckmann.
February 11th, 2022 at 5:47 PM ^
WOW!!!! ONLY 72!!!!
He's been around for such a longtime, doing a great job, that I actually thought he was in his 80's.
This is extremely difficult to hear/accept.
Always loved his U of M calls, specifically: "TOUCHDOWN MICHIGAN!!!!"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-En1gHZkXE
and others
February 11th, 2022 at 6:04 PM ^
He was a good baseball PBP guy as well. I remember way back when he was second banana at WJR to Bob Reynolds, who was an excellent PBP guy himself. Reynolds had a signature sack call..."SACKARINO!!"
The memories. The best description of them is wistful.
February 11th, 2022 at 6:52 PM ^
That is exactly what I remembered from when the Lions were on WJR.
Mostly remember listening during home games because they were always blacked out because they couldn't sell out the Silverdome. Frank and Brandy were a great tandem.
February 11th, 2022 at 7:49 PM ^
I remember this as well. In fact, the Lions vs Bears Monday night game where Eric Hipple threw for 4 touchdowns and ran for 2 more wasn't on TV in the Detroit area (including Ann Arbor). Talk about the dark ages. At least we had radio.
February 12th, 2022 at 1:03 PM ^
Was a freshman at UM listening to that MNF game (blacked out in Detroit and surrounding areas due to lack of sellout). I was a reserve (most of the time) in the MMB, which did play that night in the Silverdome (at least I made the starting MMB roster for the road win at MSU).
That's over 40 years ago and doesn't seem that long ago!
February 12th, 2022 at 9:25 AM ^
SACKARINO is probably the only tag line worse than SACK TIME.
That said, so sad to hear of Mr. Beckmann's situation. He was a consummate pro and a joy to listen to.
February 12th, 2022 at 1:19 PM ^
You sooooo bum me out! SACKARINO was great. Actually, the way Reynolds said it was to draw out the syllables. Sack-a-RINO! Sort of like O-ja-BO!!
I know. I know. RINO is actually two syllables.
February 11th, 2022 at 5:23 PM ^
Incredibly sad. All time great play by play announcer.
February 11th, 2022 at 5:23 PM ^
Incredibly sad. All time great play by play announcer.
February 11th, 2022 at 5:27 PM ^
Saying a prayer. Next to Ufer, the greatest PBP man we've ever had. So many iconic calls.
February 11th, 2022 at 5:29 PM ^
Great PBP guy and loved sports rap on wjr.
February 11th, 2022 at 5:41 PM ^
What a voice this man has. I remember him fondly.
February 11th, 2022 at 5:42 PM ^
"The 72-year-old longtime media personality has been suffering from vascular dementia, a rare and untreatable brain disease."
It's probably less rare than it seems:
"About 5% to 10% of people with dementia have vascular dementia alone. It is more common as a part of mixed dementia. Many experts believe that vascular dementia remains underdiagnosed — like Alzheimer's disease — even though it's recognized as common."
My dad passed away at the age of 89 from vascular dementia, and it was horrifying and heartbreaking to witness the decline. He had suffered from atrial fibrillation, which can lead to blood clots, which then lead to strokes, and at 83 or so had a pacemaker installed to prevent AFib. Unfortunately the pacemaker didn't prevent ministrokes, and the effect of those over time on his brain were catastrophic. He was tested for Alzheimer's and the clinical judgement was that he didn't have it. His symptoms were a bit different from AZ, but it was a distinction without much of a practical difference.
My early U-M football years were with Ufer, who will always be a Michigan icon. For my money, however, Beckmann was a much better PBP guy, and in his prime was the best football announcer I've ever heard.
I'm 69 already, so this hitting Beckman at 72 is more than a little sobering. It's weird that Ufer himself passed at only 61.
February 11th, 2022 at 6:07 PM ^
Agree. Ufer was cool because he poured his cotton-pickin' heart out for Michigan in every broadcast, but Beckmann was the best at actually informing the listener what was going on - and he had tons of great calls, too. "Woodson down the sideline!˜ "Denard Robinson, shoelaces flopping in the wind!"
My condolences to his family.
February 11th, 2022 at 6:28 PM ^
Sorry about your dad Don! Lost my father in law last year and he was the same age as Frank. I pray you have many more years to root on the maize and blue!
February 11th, 2022 at 6:51 PM ^
Thanks, and sorry about losing your FIL.
As bad as our experience was, I've read so many stories about other families who have been devastated by dementia to know that we actually had it pretty easy in comparison. There was enough financial resources plus many loving family members and wonderful health care employees to minimize the trauma to my dad.
I'd rather have a fatal heart attack tomorrow than go through what my dad did.
February 11th, 2022 at 7:49 PM ^
That seems way too young! It makes me want to retire at 60 or 62 and not wait until 65!
February 11th, 2022 at 5:52 PM ^
Sad to hear, I came along after the Ufer years so Beckmann was the voice of Michigan growing up for me. I can still hear his voice in some of those iconic calls.
February 11th, 2022 at 6:00 PM ^
Kind of an asshole. But what a voice! Prayers to his family.
February 11th, 2022 at 7:36 PM ^
I’m with you. Guess we just ignore he was a racist asshole.
February 11th, 2022 at 8:36 PM ^
I remember when "racist" meant truly believing that one race is superior to another. Now I guess it's... whatever you want it to be.
February 11th, 2022 at 9:13 PM ^
Is this about the Tiger Woods fried chicken thing when he said "Making fried chicken and popularizing it could thus be viewed as an accomplishment that should serve as a testament to the determination of a group of people who found an inventive way to subsist while enduring unimaginable and deplorable living conditions". I mean . . . I don't know. It's obviously a subject that's smarter to just not touch with a 1000 foot pole if you're white, but I feel like calling a dying man a racist asshole based on that article alone kinda makes you a generic asshole at the very least.
February 11th, 2022 at 11:22 PM ^
Yeah. If you quote what he actually said you should quote what he actually said, not paraphrase. And it’s not that he just said it off hand. He wrote an entire column excusing a horrible joke and that black people should embrace the stereotype of loving fried chicken. And it’s only one instance of his racism.
call me an asshole, but I’m not the one defending that level of ignorance and rationalization of a clearly racist joke.
February 11th, 2022 at 11:58 PM ^
You're an asshole.
February 12th, 2022 at 8:12 AM ^
I don't disagree but he's not in a position at this point to make policy or negatively effect anyone's life so I revert to what I was taught long ago--If you can't say anything nice...
I guess that was pre internet.
February 12th, 2022 at 4:21 PM ^
He is an asshole for saying what he said. You are an asshole for bringing it up now.
What I find interesting is that people pick and choose which person they will piously wave their finger at when they are on their deathbed. Often this is related to political beliefs.
Humans are collectively assholes.
February 11th, 2022 at 7:47 PM ^
WTF???
February 11th, 2022 at 7:58 PM ^
He was probably a registered Republican.
February 11th, 2022 at 8:31 PM ^
Really? Generalize much?
Add: not the time or place.
February 11th, 2022 at 11:52 PM ^
No it was not to generalize. Without ever seeing any proof that Frank was racist, it was the only reason the poster who called him a racist may have used as an excuse. I think it was an awful thing to say with his terrible health issue..
February 12th, 2022 at 12:57 AM ^
So this was an attempt at sarcastic humor? You ever lose anyone to any long term form of dementia? Don't answer that, it was rhetorical.
It's the most cruel way for a family to helplessly watch a loved one slowly die across months or years. It. Is. Devastating. Not an occasion or an event for light hearted humor. Don't, just don't.
Thanks for carefully considering my words. Peace.
February 12th, 2022 at 12:02 AM ^
You should have labeled the sarcasm. This is such an emotional subject people didn't catch it.
February 12th, 2022 at 6:00 AM ^
fwiw i got it, but yeah, easy to miss in cyber space.
February 11th, 2022 at 8:04 PM ^
As is the case with any artist, it's possible to enjoy their art without condoning who they are as a person.
Regardless of his failings he remains the voice of Michigan football to me.
February 12th, 2022 at 6:02 AM ^
+1 for this, especially the first sentence. I enjoyed Beckman very much as the PBP guy.
I met him once briefly, in an elevator in the Fisher Building. Just the two of us, riding up from the parking garage. I recognized him, nodded, and said "Good morning." That's it, nothing more. I got no reaction. He simply stared at me for a second, then looked away as if I wasn't there.
Who knows? Maybe he was a nice guy having a bad morning. Or maybe he thought any response would result in asking for an autograph, or prompt a conversation, or some other unwanted thing. Or maybe he was a jerk who couldn't be bothered to be polite when the microphone wasn't on. The possibilities are numerous. I'll never know.
I'll just say I respected his sports broadcasting abilities.
February 12th, 2022 at 10:59 AM ^
I personally hate being on elevators and find it claustrophobic to share them with other people. I wouldn't judge anyone by their reaction on one.
February 11th, 2022 at 8:20 PM ^
"Prayers to his family" is probably the most insincere thing ever said when it comes after "kind of an asshole."
February 11th, 2022 at 8:50 PM ^
Good for mankind that your superiority overcomes the shortcomings of others
February 11th, 2022 at 6:30 PM ^
Thank you!