| Bob Frantz | |
|---|---|
| Born | December 5, 1967 Elyria, Ohio, United States |
| Occupation | Talk radio host |
Bob Frantz (born December 5, 1967) is an American talk radio host, TV personality, and sportswriter. He can currently be heard on WTAM AM 1100 in Cleveland, Ohio,[1] and hosts a weekly crime solving program on WKYC channel 3 (NBC) in Cleveland.[2]
He is also a print journallist, writing a weekly sports column that appears Thursdays in the Lake County News Herald,[3] and Lorain Morning Journal,[4] and a weekly column that runs Mondays in the San Francisco Examiner.[5]
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Frantz was born in Elyria, Ohio where he grew up and was a member of two state championship football teams at Elyria Catholic High School. He played college football at Heidelberg College, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English. He taught junior high school and high school English for six years before beginning his career in broadcasting.
Frantz began his broadcasting career in 1996 at WOBL Radio in Oberlin, Ohio where he worked as a sideline reporter, color commentator and play-by-play voice for the station’s high school football and basketball broadcasts. While at WOBL, he created a high school sports talk show that launched his career into talk radio.
He continued his broadcasting career at Newsradio WTAM 1100 when he was hired in 1998 as talk show host, anchor and reporter.
In 2000, Frantz was offered a job in San Francisco, California, where he hosted the afternoon drive show on KTCT AM 1050. During his time at KTCT he was also the sideline reporter for the Oakland Raiders Radio Network. He served in these capacities for two years (and to this day his sports columns still appear in the San Francisco Examiner.
Frantz then moved to Orlando, Florida to do afternoon drive on ESPN Radio AM 1080 until 2003.
In 2003, Frantz moved back to his native Ohio to become morning drive host for WSPD AM 1370 in Toledo. In 2005, Frantz was moved to early evenings with a show called Eye on Toledo.
In March 2006, Frantz returned to WTAM AM 1100 to host mid-mornings from 9 a.m. – 12 p.m. He was moved to the evening time slot, from 7 p.m. - 12 a.m., when WTAM returned Glenn Beck to its mid-morning lineup on November 3, 2008.
He also hosts pregame and/or postgame shows for the Cleveland Indians, Cleveland Cavaliers, and Cleveland Browns (WTAM serves as the flagship station for all three teams), as well as appearing on SportsTime Ohio as an occasional guest host for Bruce Drennan on All Bets Are Off.
Frantz' radio show covers a wide variety of topics, as he shares his views on politics, sports, local issues, and current events. His opinions tend to lean on the conservative side, although Frantz claims he has no qualms about criticizing Republican leaders or ideas.
Joining Frantz for the nighttime show are producer/sidekick Brian "Motts" Motsay, traffic reporter/contributor Steve Douglas, and news anchor Tom Moore.
Frantz has gathered many different language translations of his favorite soundbite ("Can you dig it?") from the movie The Warriors, and plays them when a caller makes what he thinks is an excellent comment.
He also frequently uses a soundbite of Ric Flair's "WHOOO!" exclamation when a caller makes a point he wholeheartedly agrees with. Another frequently played soundbite is The Rock's "It doesn't matter what your name is!".
Towards the last hour of his show (unless it's abbreviated due to sports coverage or breaking news) he plays "Stump the Panel" where people call in and ask Frantz and others working with him trivia questions, usually about Cleveland sports, television shows, or movies. If callers ask Frantz "How are you?", he will consider that as the question, say he is outstanding (with soundbites of others saying that word), credit himself with a correct answer, and move on to the next caller.
On December 2, 2009, Frantz announced that he would be the host of a new weekly local crime-solving television show entitled Warrant Unit, which was seen on WOIO CBS 19 and WUAB MY 43.
Warrant Unit was described as a local, Northeast Ohio version of America's Most Wanted, in which citizens were urged to watch re-enactments of crimes committed in Greater Cleveland, as well as "wanted" posters of fugitives, and then call with anonymous tips to law enforcement offices in exchange for cash rewards.
In less than 2 full seasons on the air, Warrant Unit has won 3 local Emmy Awards, solved 3 "cold case" murders, and been responsible for the apprehension of nearly 400 wanted fugitives.
In June 2011, the show parted ways with WOIO/WUAB due to unresolved legal issues.
In July 2011, Frantz announced that Warrant Unit was moving to its new television home on WKYC in a new prime-time slot. The show, renamed Crime Stoppers: Case Files[6] airs Saturdays at 7 p.m., having premiered on September 10, 2011.
He and his wife Jean have two children, Jaiden (born 2001) and Jaret (born 2003).