My radio career debuts as a weekend part-timer at WRDN Radio

                                             

After about two months of attending Brown Institute in Minneapolis I thought I was ready to “be on the radio.” 

Russ Kent ran the station back in the mid-1970s. Russ was part of the ‘Breakfast Bunch” each morning at the Durand Café. My Dad was also a member of the group.

My Dad called me one night in early 1974, up at my Dupont Avenue apartment just off West Lake Street in Minneapolis.  He said, “Tommy, WRDN wants to know if you’re interested in working weekends at the station?”  I almost dropped the phone, I was so excited. In my best radio voice I retorted, “you bet!”

Actually my “radio voice,” just four months into broadcast school was only slightly better than Elmer Fudd’s voice!

I drove down to Durand the following day and met with Jeff Peterson who was a stalwart at the station at that time.

The “board” in the WRDN studio was identical to one of the “boards” I worked on at Brown. I remember thinking confidently, “this is going to be a breeze!”

Jeff said he wanted me to read a couple of commercials and some UPI news off the teletype. No problem!  Jeff hands me the copy. I open my microphone, and nothing comes out of my mouth! I had “stage fright” and dang near passed out.

I still wonder to this day what Jeff thought about Mr. Big Shot radio school guy choking big time in his first bid to work at a radio station.

The WRDN studio at the time was located above Gil Weiss Insurance overlooking the Chippewa River adjacent to the Hwy 10 bridge.

The three things that I remember walking down the steps following my forgettable audition was how embarrassed I was, what my Dad was going to think, and if my teachers and classmates found out, would I be laughed out of school.

Actually, Jeff did his best to reassure me that many other rookie announcers get stage fright in similar situations. I was actually offered the weekend announcing position the following day  Whew!!!

At the time, WRDN was largely automated through the syndicated "Great American Country" which was voiced by the legendary Bob Kingsley.

I still chuckle over Bob Kingsley on tape with his big voice going into a break immediately followed with my wimpy voice reading some news.  At the time I remember thinking, Rob Sherwood, Machine Gun Kelly (huge radio stars at the time in the Twin Cities) look out, I’m coming!

My radio career was underway.

My memories of Durand Panther football and boy's basketball during my high school years

As I look back at my high school days at Durand High School I remember the incredible football and boy’s basketball teams at DHS.

The Durand football team made state headlines all four years (1965-1969) that I attended school in the community of just under 2000 residents in West-Central Wisconsin.

The Panthers were coached by Pete Adler who would later be inducted into the Wisconsin Football Coaches Hall of Fame (WFCA).

From 1965-69, the Panthers put together 36 consecutive wins. During that time, Adler’s teams were also ranked number one in the state among small schools in the AP and UPI state poll.  A fact that most people forget is the Panthers even received three state top ten rankings in the “large school” Associated Press state poll. I wish we would have had “social media” back in the day!

Meanwhile, Al Ormson’s Durand Panther boy’s basketball teams got better each year I was in high school. 

As a junior, the Panthers fell just short of making it to the State Tournament falling in sectional action at the Mary E. Sawyer Auditorium in La Crosse.

The 1968-69 team had one goal, to be the first Durand team to advance to the state tournament in Madison since 1938.

The Panthers, led by Buzz Harmon, Tom Bauer and Mike Krisik, rolled through the regular season.  One night after beating a very good Gilmanton team, the Panthers hosted No. 1 ranked Whitehall and their superstar Ralph Rasmussen in the regional final. 

I was so nervous the day of that game that I suffered neck spasms. I remember being able to look forward, but not side to side as I watched the game.  The Panthers won and I “took one” for the team.

It was on to Mary E. Sawyer Auditorium in La Crosse for sectional play. Remember, it was still a one-class tournament back in the late ‘60s.

First up was little North Crawford, a slow down type of team that was looking to pull off the upset.  The Panthers were able to get the pace up in the second half to pull away for the sectional semifinal victory.

I still remember the feature photo in the  Eau Claire Leader of Mike Krisik launching a deep corner jump shot.  The caption to the photo read: “Durand’s bubblegum shooting guard Mike Krisik shoots Panthers to sectional final."

The following night Durand faced Onalaska who many considered the favorite in the game. Onalaska was led by Chuck Hockenberry. He was an animal on the court and would later sign a professional baseball contract with the California Angels.

The Hilltoppers also featured twins, Tom and Tim Gullikson at guard. The twins would later go on to coach Pete Sampras and become one of the top doubles teams in pro tennis.

Durand and Onalaska fought for four quarters with the Panthers victorious 84-73 to advance to the state tournament for the first time since 1938.

Coming up in my next chapter excerpt I'll remember back to Durand's 1969 Wisconsin State Tournament appearance

Great memories of my 39+ year radio career to be featured in my in my upcoming book

Hello everybody, my name is Tom Pattison, and I'll be celebrating my 64th birthday on November 8th.  My career has revolved around radio broadcasting, both as a disc jockey and sports announcer. I also spent seven years covering the Green Bay Packers as writer, producer and "Voice" of the Goetz Radio Network's Titletown Report. 

I owned and operated Warhawkfootball.com. The Website, launched in 2004, centered around the University of Wisconsin football program that exploded onto the national scene shortly after I launched the popular site. My site drew over 3-million "hits" in the 10 years I ran the site.  

My radio career took me to locations throughout the United States. 
It started in 1974 at WATW Radio in Ashland, Wisconsin after graduating from Brown Institute of Broadcasting in Minneapolis.

As was the case growing up in little Durand, Wisconsin, virtually job included incredible sports stories.  Among the stories - the hometown Durand girl's basketball team that won over 50 consecutive games in the mid-1980s on the way to back-to-back state tournament championships. 

In my first year at KXXL Radio in Bozeman, Montana I saw the Montana State University football team capture the 1976 NCAA Division 2 national championship.

My next radio stop took me to the beautiful Shenandoah Valley in Virginia.  At WTON Radio in Staunton I witnessed first hand the No.1 ranked high school basketball player in the country. 7-foot-4 Ralph Sampson of Harrisonburg, VA. Ralph drew a who's who of college basketball coaches in the stands recruiting him at each game.  Sampson was perhaps the most intriguing interview in my broadcast career.

My year's covering, and being the "Radio Voice" of UW-Whitewater football, men's and women's basketball, and baseball produced incredible stories and memories for me. 

Perhaps my greatest honor was being inducted into the UW-Whitewater Athletic's Hall of Fame in 2010.

I had joked for a number of years that maybe I should write a book.  Earlier this year, a very good friend if mine talked me into beginning work on the project.

I'll be using this Website to publish some of my greatest memories of my broadcast career. I'll also be giving readers excerpts of the chapters as I write them.

I invite you to visit my Voice's Book Project Website on a regular basis.