Washington’s WTOP radio had no idea who they hired when Frank Herzog came on board in 1968.
First as a copyboy making just $2 an hour, then as a production assistant editing audio for the WTOP radio newscasts, Frank actually wanted to report.
This is the second episode of our Commanders Wire feature on Washington television legend Frank Herzog. Here’s part one.
Working at WTOP on the weekends and doing some radio reports, he suddenly found himself making his first television appearance reporting in prison in Jessup, Maryland, in what Frank believes was 1971 or ’72.
WTOP TV9 aired a 15-minute Redskins highlights segment on Sunday nights and a producer approached Frank on one of his weekends at WTOP Radio and asked Frank if he would like to do the highlights. Herzog hesitated because he was on the radio, not TV. “Do not worry about it; I’ll announce you for every game,” was the reply to Herzog. “He put together the highlight package, wrote the script, sat out of camera sight and signaled for me to read the script with each new play, and that’s how I got into the sport.”
“The ratings raced through the charts,” said Herzog. Warner Wolf, the weekday WTOP 9 sports presenter, heard about it and then wanted the segment himself. Herzog quickly learned that the big guns would get first choice at work.
When approached by a WTOP producer, Fred Farrar, in December 1972, Herzog was doing a fine job of news reporting. A reporter colleague had called in sick. WTOP needed a reporter and they needed it fast!
Farrar “asked” Herzog to go to RFK to report the playoff game against the Packers. Herzog insisted, “Freddy, I know some football but not well enough to cover an NFL playoff game.”
“Frank, just do your news coverage, who, what, when, where and why. I’ll take you to the press box and then do a couple of interviews and you’ll be fine.”
It was Herzog’s first NFL work. Things went so well for Herzog that he was also called up for the game next Sunday. Keep in mind this wasn’t preseason or regular season. Defending Super Bowl champion Dallas Cowboys came to RFK to face the Redskins in the 1972 NFC Championship game in a bid to win a ticket to Super Bowl VII.
The story goes on
Again, things went well and Herzog’s work as a reporter did not go unnoticed. On Monday he attended a WTOP meeting. “I sat there and I was like, ‘I’ve reported two NFL games. Are you kidding me? Are they talking about sending me to the Super Bowl?’ ”
“Freddy and I were sent to LA for a week to cover all the Super Bowl VII fanfare. But of course Washington lost to Miami. But then I started as a sports reporter. I was in the right place at the right time.”
A year later, when the play-by-play announcer didn’t want to do a Bullets show (on what Herzog thinks was Christmas Eve), he approached Herzog and asked if he’d like to do the Bullets game himself. Herzog agreed, and it was his first time announcing an NBA game on play-by-play.
In 1975 he was approached by the WTOP director and informed Herzog, “We think you should look into play-by-play announcements.”
“You get me a team and I’ll do it,” Herzog replied.
“Ok, we already have the Bullets PBP job for you.”
“I felt terrible. Tony Roberts was the Bullets’ PBP announcer. So I said, ‘But what about Tony?’ ”
It was explained to Herzog that they were moving in a different direction. They figured that with Herzog’s experience in news and sports coverage, he could handle it. But if he didn’t want the job, they would find someone else.
“Well, I got the job.”
In just seven years, Frank Herzog had gone from copier to production assistant, radio news anchor, news reporter, sportscaster, sportscaster covering Super Bowl VII, and PBP announcer for the NBA’s Washington Bullets.
Next time: Frank Herzog voices the Washington Champions
Story originally appeared on Commanders Wire
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