OSU Football

Tomorrow night, Ohio State opens it's 2010 season against Marshall. The game will now be carried on television and one AM/FM combination radio station.

There was a time when just about anyone who had a microphone and a transmitter could broadcast the games from the Shoe. Prior to the 1973 season when WTVN was awarded sole rights to home OSU games, WBNS, WBBY, WVKO, WMNI, WRFD and WOSU all had play by play announcers describing the X's and O's from the Shoe's pressbox.

While the WBNS ad shows Ted Mullins, 1973 would be the first and last year for Ted broadcasting the games. Prior to Ted taking the microphone, the calls were handled by Bill Corley with color provided by Bob Adkins, Irwin Johnson and Les Spencer.  Sherry Wood's "Citizen Journal" radio column described some of the letters she received from readers who were less than happy with Corley missing from Saturday afternoons and replaced with Mullins. Corley and Adkins as well as Irwin Johnson when games were play at home and Les Spencer when the games were away in the early years were probably the most listened to of all announcers.








Another who made the gridiron calls at that time was the late Ed Johnson of WRFD. While Ed was known to central Ohioans as the voice of agricultural broadcasting, he also did a year or two behind the microphone doing play by play with his rural drawl. For WRFD's final season to broadcast the Buckeyes, 1972, Stan Savran was brought in. And by the end of the season, management had invited him to move on as WTVN was awarded exclusive home broadcast rights. Savran's talents would no longer be needed.

Back to Ed Johnson for a moment. Ed also broadcast many high school basketball games on WRFD's sister station WNCI and was also sports director for both stations. I personally don't remember Ed on WNCI. But I simply can't picture in my mind Ed, with his rural tone and drawl, giving sports reports on a progressive rock FM station.







Back to OSU. Martin Petree manned the mic for WMNI and for the few years that WBBY carried the games it was Joe Hill. Not to be forgotten was WVKO/WSPO. Station president Bert Charles was the play by play announcer. If I recall, it was OSU sports information director Marv Holman who did the play by play by WOSU. He later would join WTVN along with Dayton broadcaster Tom Hamlin when Dale Conquest left. That arrangement lasted until the 1976 season when Ken Coleman and Bob Conners occupied the press box.

Chuck

Any reader of this blog knows I frequently write about people in radio who have touched me or left an impression. Most of those writings have involved people who left those impressions and memories when I was very young. This writing involves someone who I still see on a somewhat regular basis.

One of the most gifted and talented people I've ever met is Chuck Adkins.

Chuck's first love is the broadcast world. Specifically radio. Chuck has a smooth delivery, a quick wit and his listeners have always loved his work. Chuck has hosted oldies, top 40 and big band formats with the air name Chuck Howard.

Chuck is also blind. Like in can't see a thing blind. Two glass eyes blind. Zip, nothing, nada. He will never even see something as bland as blurred images or light.

Yet this gifted man can operate an audio board better than many sighted people. I watched in amazement as I "showed" Chuck the new control room at WOSU recently.

We met on a Friday evening. We went through what each input represented, levels and other control room activities. After an hour Chuck had it mastered. And I do mean mastered.

For whatever reason, Chuck's opportunities in commercial radio have been limited. I can't explain why. Clearly he has no problem navigating the audio console. He has a radio voice and could easily fit in as a host for many formats.

Versatile, friendly, hard working, talented, flexible, keen ear for what's important for today.

Yet the calls do not come.

Maybe someday some professional broadcast group or program director will see this blog and fill an opening with Chuck. Until then, some station some where is missing out on a great talent.