Comments on: Remembering Ken Beatrice — “You’re Next on Sports Call!”

By: Maria

Maria — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 03:48:06 +0000

Wow, I remember Ken. What a great tribute. He would announce the jewelry ads and the winners of whatever give aways. I would listen for hours, all seasons. We were Redskins and Orioles fans. He was so polite and respectful, kids listened. I cannot stand most of the local sports radio now, it is geared too much toward men, very unwelcoming toward women. And I would not want my children listening – too much rude talk, or adult topics mixed in, like the Tiger Woods infidelity.

By: RICHARD DELGAUDIO

RICHARD DELGAUDIO — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 18:10:18 +0000

i WENT TO SCHOOL WITH KEN AND I WOULD LOVE TO MAKE CONNECTIONS WITH HIM AGAIN. WE PLAYED TAG FOOTBALL PRACTICALLY EVERY DAY AND WE NEVER LOST. YOU MAY REACH ME AT MERRIMACK COLLEGE WHERE I AM A PROFESSOR.

By: Jack

Jack — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 22:41:55 +0000

I do remember Ken fondly. He hosted the only sports talk show in town for years. The dirty little secret is that he mistated his credentials on several occasions and all of this was uncovered by Tony Kornheiser who was a reporter for the Post at the time. Ken was off the air for several weeks while he recovered. I don’t think that he ever was the same after that newspaper story and retired a few years later.

By: tbk

tbk — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 03:13:58 +0000

You make some very good points about Ken! I came down here in ‘81 and listened to him a lot. His postgame Skins analysis was excellent. And I remember one year, before a Skins-Bears playoff game in Chicago, he had a show talking about the game with a station in Chicago. The Chicago station picked the Bears. I think Ken said the outcome would depend on the Bears keeping McMahon in the game. If they did, they would win. If he got hurt, the Skins would win. Well he got hurt and the Skins won.

Sometimes I thought he was a bit condescending, but not a lot. This is the only bad thing I noticed about him. The good FAR outweighed it imo. A couple points I’ll add:

1)He didn’t confine himself to 2 or 3 main sports. If someone wanted to talk about college lacross, women’s gymnastics, or the Tour de France, they’d talk it. This would introduce certain sports to people that they would not even consider otherwise. I got onto his show one time and we talked about NHL hockey for maybe 10 minutes-and this wasn’t during the playoffs. I really enjoyed talking with him one on one on the air.

2)He had interesting guests on the show and he knew what questions to ask them. He brought in guests from a wide range of sports, not just the popular ones.

You mentioned that he gave out his office number. Well I was one person who called his office I think a few times. He worked hard at what he did and it showed in the product.

By: Ross

Ross — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 12:41:10 +0000

I saw Ken’s name in the new Washingtonion and ended up here.As far as sports goes, we were lucky then;we could hear the games on radio,and listen to Ken later.(to me, Johnny Holiday is still an old fashioned star).When Ken was scheduled for his heart surgery I was going in to pre-op him.My plan was to go into the room and announce”You’re next on CABG call”.At the last minute his surgery was rescheduled to another hospital.

By: WithAView

WithAView — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 19:23:42 +0000

Watching basketball today, and the words “You’re NEXT on SportsCall” popped in to my head out of the blue. Googled the words, and here you are.

Thanks for the good read and nostalgia.

By: SG

SG — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 05:57:18 +0000

I grew up listening to Ken Beatrice with my dad. I remember crying during his final broadcast, with all the long-time listeners calling in. We will be very lucky if there’s ever someone like him to hit the airwaves in DC again.

Remember the Arby’s commercials! haha

By: Nick the Nat Fan

Nick the Nat Fan — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 15:18:56 +0000

What great memories of listening to Ken Beatrice. A unique voice(and every one tried to emulate him) Ken could discuss it all, and was really informed, not like some of these”frauds” on sports talk nowadays. Thanks Steve for the tribute to Ken Beatrice. I am planning to buy your book in the Spring on the 1969 Senators.

By: Cliff H.

Cliff H. — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 03:53:52 +0000

I was a HUGE fan of Ken Beatrice’s talk show back then. My daughter remembers also. As a child all she heard was you’re next. She sometimes asks about what I used to listen to and the person,s name that used to say that.He was a true pioneer. I was talking to my wife and his name came up,so I had to look him up. Nice letters guys,I miss Ken very much. There will never be one like him.

By: Pete K.

Pete K. — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 15:14:16 +0000

I grew up in Centreville as well and fondly remember listening to Ken on WMAL. He was simply amazing and yes, he did treat kids with respect. I called once when I was a 10-year old and it was at the end of the show and he took my call off the air and was very kind and respectul too me. Thanks for the aritcle, it brings back great memories for me.

By: Dave Warstler

Dave Warstler — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 02:01:16 +0000

Reading this article brought back extremely fond memories of the man that will forever be the greatest sports talk show host ever. That is especially something considering I was (am) a fan of the hated Cowboys and his show centered primarily around Washington DC teams, particularly, the Redskins. Beatrice was an amazing talent, and an even better human being. He was the kind of person that any sports fan of the late 70s and 80s would have liked to have had over to his house for dinner, just as if he was a good friend, as it seemed that way listening to him interact with the loyal callers that spoke to him on the air. I had the audacity once when in high school to call into the show, proclaim to be a Dallas fan living in Northern Virginia and discuss the Cowboys’ offense. Beatrice treated me with all the same kindness and courtesy that he gave the millions of Washington sports fans that called night after night. I recorded that on-air discussion that night and about every 5 years I listen to it and marvel at Ken Beatrice. I remember how sad I was when Beatrice left WMAL. A great era in sports talk show hosting had ended. I want to thank my high school classmate, Steve Walker for his words on Beatrice. Steve Walker is a great sports fan, and has an outstanding memory. When the Astros won the NL pennant in 2005, he remembered from our school days that I was an Astros fan, and sent me a congratulatory e-mail. I was very honored to receive that from him. Ken Beatrice…wherever you are today, I wish you a happy life….and thanks for the many hours of sports entertainment you provided us. The quality of the show you ran will never be seen again, and I’m grateful that I was around to experience it!

By: Jim H.

Jim H. — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 16:44:53 +0000

Steve:
Thanks for the memory. You made a great point about Ken’s respect for his callers. He was the first full-time guy (I seem to recall Shelby Whitfield having a weekly show on WWDC), and without him, there might not be sports talk radio in DC. Today’s “experts” don’t seem to get it. With very few exceptions, sports talk radio in D.C. lacks depth, quality and intelligence. Have you ever had the pleasure of listening to football guys as they try to analyze baseball or (heaven forbid!) something they REALLY don’t understand, like horse racing? It’s Sports Bar babble at its finest.
Redskins Radio is just that–Redskins. That’s fine for the fan who wants to know EVERYTHING about their team. We do have the option of either listening to the steady stream of nonsense or turning it off. I have chosen the latter.

By: Bill Deibert

Bill Deibert — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 01:42:31 +0000

Hey Steve! I enjoyed the comments about Ken Beatrice – I never heard him. I agree with your comments about sports radio! The other thing about sports radio these days is everybody has a prediction that the end is near 1/3 of the way into the season. No one can say “Its still early” they have to be the first to say it (never mind most of the time they are wrong – run the tape on any sports radio talk show about the Redskins playoff chances this past year!).