12 Facts About Ron Franklin

1.

Ron Franklin was employed by ESPN from 1987 to 2011.

2.

Ron Franklin's mother allowed him to play sports in school as long as he agreed to take voice lessons.

3.

Ron Franklin's family moved to Oxford, Mississippi when he was 14.

4.

Ron Franklin suffered a head injury in high school that resulted in the formation of a blood clot that ended his football career and made him ineligible for the military.

5.

Ron Franklin was an alumni member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity.

6.

Ron Franklin was the play-by-play voice of the Houston Oilers from 1971 to 1982.

7.

Ron Franklin worked as sports director for four different local news stations: KSWS-TV in Roswell, New Mexico in 1965, KVOO-TV in Tulsa, Oklahoma from 1967 to 1971, and in Houston, Texas with KHOU-TV from 1971 to 1980, then with KPRC-TV from 1980 to 1987.

8.

Ron Franklin called the tennis French Open, college baseball and the US Olympic Festival, Ron Franklin hosted in some years the Miss Texas USA Pageants.

9.

Ron Franklin signed a contract extension with ESPN in 2006.

10.

On October 1,2005, during a game between Notre Dame and Purdue that Ron Franklin was calling, sideline reporter Holly Rowe praised Purdue defensive coordinator Brock Spack for using all three timeouts on defense despite trailing by four touchdowns late in the game.

11.

Ron Franklin apologized for his remarks the following Monday and said he deserved to be pulled from the Fiesta Bowl.

12.

Ron Franklin died on January 18,2022, at the age of 79.