Photo: WJR
ROCHESTER HILLS, February 11, 2022 ~ Word came Friday that longtime WJR personality and University of Michigan play-by-play announcer, Frank Beckmann has been admitted in critical condition to an Oakland County hospice center.
According to his wife, Karen Beckmann, the 72-year-old has been given just days to live. “The doctors said they don’t expect him to last until Monday.”
Beckmann was diagnosed in June with vascular dementia, a rare and untreatable brain disease. He also suffered a stroke back in October, which kept him hospitalized for 35 days. Beckman has since suffered four more strokes, and is currently described as semi-comatose.
In a statement, WJR Vice President and General Manager Steve Finateri said, “All of us at WJR are praying for Frank and his family right now, and I know that he is in the hearts of listeners all over Michigan who have followed him in his legendary 48-year career here at the radio station.”
In addition to his time at WJR, Beckmann spent 33 years calling University of Michigan football games, and also served as an announcer for both Detroit Tigers and Detroit Lions games. He has been inducted into the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame, and the Michigan Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame.
“Frank had a fabulous professional career,” Frank’s wife, Karen Beckmann told “The Detroit News.” “The thing he was best at was his interviews … he was able to ask the questions that drew his listeners in. His listeners felt as if they were part of the conversation.“
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