Blog Single

By Bill Little – Texas Media Relations Contributor

“O how wonderful is the human voice!” wrote Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, “It is indeed the organ of the soul.”

Longfellow went on to encapsulate other characteristics of humans. 

“The intellect of man sits enshrined visibly upon his forehead and in his eye; and the heart of man is written upon his countenance.”

But the way Longfellow saw it, “The soul reveals itself in the voice only …” For him, it exists in the Biblical account of God revealing himself as a still small voice, or a commanding voice from a Burning Bush.

“The soul of man is audible, not visible,” he wrote. “A sound alone betrays the flowing of the eternal fountain invisible to man.”

Ron Franklin – The passing of a broadcasting giant of more than 50 years

Ron Franklin signed off his final earthly broadcast on Tuesday, January 18, 2022, bringing closure to a life well-lived over 79 years, and a career that touched millions as he painted pictures and told stories that would chronicle history and freeze-frame memories that would hang like canvasses in the hallways of the mind.

In a broadcasting profession that focused on more than 50 years of college and professional athletics, Ron left us with two abiding memories: you always recognized the face, but you never forgot the “Voice.” Simply put, Ron Franklin knew when to speak and when to be silent – letting the event itself, played by the kids he loved and coached by the people he respected – tell the story.

He was a patriot, a Christian, with a broadcasting gift that could bring the thunder of trumpets and the sweetness of a harp into your living room and leave it there with a presence few have ever been able to capture. He wasn’t perfect, and would be the first to admit that. He was a dichotomy of confidence, and humility. He smiled from his heart; it came out through his eyes.

In his time in the industry, he would rise to become one of the most recognized figures in sports broadcasting. Ron and Bonnie Franklin met when they attended college at Ole Miss, and his path to success would take him to distant places such as Roswell, N.M., and Tulsa, Okla., where their son, Ron Jr. (or RF) was born. Then it was on to Houston where Ron worked for two different television stations. His first “big break” came as the play-by-play voice of the Houston Oilers, linking his legacy with that of head coach Bum Phillips and superstar running back Earl Campbell for 10 years.

Ron had no way of knowing it, but his life was about to change forever because of the evolvement of sports broadcasting in the southwestern United States. Jim Host, a broadcasting pioneer from Kentucky who had turned his Host Communications company into a powerhouse in the radio industry as a partner of the NCAA, had formed a friendship and professional relationship with DeLoss Dodds, the new athletics director at The University of Texas.

As Host’s lead play-by-play radioman for the NCAA Tournament, Franklin had shared his Mississippi roots with an admiration for college sports in Texas. The long-standing tradition of radio rights in the Southwest Conference was locked in as a property of the conference. That is, until Host, Dodds, and Texas A&M’s new football coach Jackie Sherill combined to help wrest the rights from the league, giving them to the schools. What had been the Humble Oil Network and the Mutual Radio Network, became the property of the institutions. The change meant each school could have its own broadcast team, and it earned the league $100,000 in new revenue, a massive figure in the early 1980s.

Dodd’s was able to corral Franklin as the first voice of the Longhorns radio network. Franklin would serve in the role of the Voice of the Longhorns handling play-by-play for Texas’ football and basketball games from 1983-88. Officed in Bellmont Hall during that time, his voice became synonymous and his presence was significant as UT’s newly-formed institutional radio network took shape.

From there, Ron was about to make more history. His work and his reputation soon earned him national recognition as cable television became part of the broadcast landscape. With television, Ron would become a worldwide presence.  And when he showed up, whether at the French Open, the College World Series, the Final Four or any major college game in any sport, it meant the Big Time had arrived.

And the world noticed. Whether it was Bonnie leaving her purse on a train in France (and getting it back intact) or Ron working with church and local charities from their home near Westlake Hills, the Franklins eased in, with a bit of a touch of the Old South mixed with the humanity of another time. It was, after all, a long way from the Square Books Store in Oxford to the rapid transit train in Paris.

Ronald Abbie Franklin was born in Jackson, Miss., on February 2, 1942. He attended schools nearby in his hometown of Hazelhurst. His family moved to Oxford, home of the Ole Miss Rebels, when he was 14. A tall youngster who would grow to be 6 feet, 3 inches, he dreamed of playing football at Mississippi, but suffered a concussion, and when the opportunity to play the game ended with the injury, the chance to tell the story began.

As a student at Ole Miss, Ron was in great demand as a vocalist, frequently singing at churches and weddings, and his singing abilities in their own way enhanced his growing popular presence. He was in demand as a public speaker and was a member of the Board of Directors of the Greater Austin Chapter of the National Football Foundation.

Ron was active in the Wednesday Morning Men’s Bible Study at Tarrytown Methodist Church. He was involved with Champions for Children, the Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes among many other charities.

Ron was preceded in death by his parents, Helen Elliott Franklin and Virgil Abbie Franklin, and two infant sons. He is survived by his wife of 56 years, Bonnie; his son, Ronald Abbie Franklin, Jr.; grandchildren Camille, Rett and Charlotte Franklin; his sister, Linda Franklin Morgan; his sister-in-law, Sheila Furnas; and numerous nieces and nephews.

He was, after all, a competitor. In the end, after an extended illness, and shortly before his death, he took his last road trip to the hospital.

The late Rev. Gerald Mann, who shared a friendship with Ron and Coach Darrell Royal, once spoke to the passing of “Giants.”

“The only way you can get past your grief is by replacing it with gratitude,” said Gerald. “You miss them, and yet you remember the good things.”

That is not hard when it comes to Ron Franklin, and those men such as the late Keith Jackson, who brought such joy in our lives. They gave us their best, and they painted word pictures we will never forget.

What was it Longfellow said?

“O how wonderful is the human voice! It is, indeed, the organ of the soul.”

And in that space, we listen and remember.

A service will be held on Jan. 31, 2022, at 2:00 p.m. at Tarrytown Methodist Church in Austin. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to: Helping Hand Home for Children, Fellowship of Christian Athletes, Tarrytown Methodist Church or the charity of your choice.