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Erik O, Legend on the Microphone
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
March 21, 2013
One of Erik O. Furseth’s favorite moments every March – perhaps the one he looks forward to most – comes during the hour before each MHSAA Basketball Semifinal.
From his familiar seat on press row, Furseth has called hundreds of Michigan State University and MHSAA Finals basketball games.
But the opportunity for high school teams to play at Breslin Center is not lost on him, especially as he watches players and fans enter the arena for the first time.
“(It’s) the kind of awe that overtakes people when they come there,” Furseth explained earlier this month. “The enthusiasm reflected on the kids there and so on.
“What a thrill for those kids to come and play a ballgame there.”
Now imagine Furseth saying this with the voice that’s become legendary to generations of basketball fans across this state.
Furseth, 82, has been a member of the MSU basketball family for more than 60 years. A player first, he since served as the homecourt voice of MSU basketball from 1968-02 and MSU football from 1971-98, and this weekend is continuing a run of calling MHSAA Boys Basketball Finals that began more than four decades ago while those games still were played at Jenison Field House.
Some of his phrases are on ready recall for those who have sat in his audience.
“The clock is correct and official.”
“Yesssss … on the basket!”
“Heeeee gets the bonus.”
Last weekend, Furseth also called his sixth MHSAA Girls Basketball Finals, and he’s announced MHSAA football championship games since their days at the Pontiac Silverdome and Baseball Finals for a decade. Furseth also just finished his third season as voice of Traverse City St. Francis football and girls and boys basketball.
“Erik is able to make that job not just a game, but an event,” St. Francis athletic director Tom Hardy said. “To have somebody of his caliber, with his recognition, in a small gym in Traverse City … whether there are 100 people or it's standing room only, it’s so great to know the professionalism of that is taken care of. He just understands kids.”
Furseth moved from East Lansing to Traverse City 18 years ago. That he would find his way to the microphone in his new hometown makes sense. But that it became the tool of his trade the last half-century certainly would be considered a detour from his original plan when Furseth turned down a chance to play football for Woody Hayes so he could study forestry in East Lansing.
Life-changing moments
“Erik O. on the radio” was the voice of Lansing rock-n-roll radio during the 1950s and 60s.
“He was the number one disc jockey in this area before they were called disc jockeys,” said Lansing WILX sports director Tim Staudt, who grew up in East Lansing and has worked in mid-Michigan television for four decades and as a daily radio host for 20 years.
“He has the all-time greatest voice, and obviously it's held up to this day.”
Furseth grew up in Cleveland Heights, Ohio, and got to know Hayes while the soon-to-be-legendary coach was finishing his tenure at Denison University. Hayes hoped Furseth, a high school football standout, would become part of the coach’s first recruiting class after taking the job at Miami (Ohio) before the 1949 season.
But Furseth, who had vacationed in Michigan growing up, was drawn to MSU’s forestry program. So he made a trip to campus – picked up by then-assistant Duffy Daugherty for a visit with head coach Biggie Munn – and was sold on coming to East Lansing instead.
It didn’t take long for his future to turn in an unplanned direction.
Furseth was injured his first fall with the Spartans, and he never played a down of college football. But at that time, MSU sent all freshmen who had played high school basketball a card encouraging them to try out for the Spartans’ freshman hoops team. Furseth, also a 6-foot-3 post player in high school, not only made that MSU team but played three seasons on the varsity under another future coaching legend – Pete Newell, who would go on to lead teams to NCAA and Olympic championships. Furseth played in MSU’s first Big Ten game, against Northwestern in 1951.
It was during sophomore year that Furseth’s academic future also changed lanes. Forestry students were required to take a soil science class offered only during the winter and from 3-5 p.m. – a conflict with Furseth’s basketball commitments. He dropped the class, dropped the major, and as a junior switched course of study to communications.
MSU basketball’s announcer at that time, Larry Friedmeyer, was among a few who took note of Furseth’s deep and authoritative tone, and suggested he audition for the campus’ WKAR radio station. Furseth was hired at 75 cents an hour to host a few nights each week of “The Concert Call,” a classical music program, and later that year joined local station WILS to read the evening news. After serving in the Air Force, Furseth returned to WILS – and a star was born.
Furseth was a DJ for WILS for 14 years. On Saturdays for a decade, he hosted dances at the Lansing Civic Center that drew 1,000 teenagers a night – and one evening, included a surprise drum performance by a famous student at the local Michigan School for the Blind, known then as Little Stevie Wonder.
Furseth later managed WILS from 1956-68. “Being the manager made it no fun anymore,” Furseth noted.
He left for a job outside of radio. But the fun returned when his announcing career began.
Erik O on the microphone
The “O,” by the way, stands for Olaf. Furseth’s parents are from Norway. “Erik O” was a smooth radio name early in his career when he was filling in for mentor Dave Froh – “Erik O for Dave Froh” – so it stuck.
In his role at a basketball game, Erik O admittedly doesn’t see much of it – at least, as a fan might. He can say his top three MSU players during his time as announcer were Scott Skiles, Magic Johnson and Johnny Green. But for the most part, Furseth focuses on the factual information he must supply with every substitution, foul and break.
He found that winning formula long ago.
“He’s just a nice guy – and nice guys don’t usually last on the air as long,” said Lansing sports radio personality Earle Robinson, who recently retired after 39 years at WKAR. “He’s always had good relationships and such a pleasant personality.”
“You’d never know he was a basketball player or anything. He’s very free of any ego, very helpful to people and generous of his time,” said longtime MSU men’s basketball broadcaster Gus Ganakas, who formerly coached the Spartans from 1969-76 and was an assistant on Furseth’s freshman team.
“And particularly in basketball, he knew what he was doing. He’s a former player and has a background as an athlete, and he has a pleasing voice. I’ve always admired him because of his devotion to what he’s doing.”
High school sports are high on that list.
Furseth enjoys announcing the seventh and eighth grade football teams that play at Traverse City’s Thurlby Field – “They think they’re big time,” he said – and finds it incredible how much the high school teams can improve over the course of a season.
He relishes the camaraderie he sees at Class C St. Francis, and wishes he’d attended a similarly-small school himself. To a player who was wearing his former number, he said, “You’re wearing my number. Do it right.” And the St. Francis boys basketball team felt at home at Breslin Center in 2012, when it finished runner-up to Flint Beecher while a familiar voice called the action.
Furseth recalled earlier this month. “Really, for me, high school (sports) exemplifies the development of our kids athletically and in many other ways. You learn a lot of things in athletics.”
“When I think about my life, to think something I started led to doing this; I’m thrilled that it happened,” Furseth said of returning to another Finals. “It’s always been a great thrill for me to do it.”
PHOTOS: (Top) Erik O. Furseth calls the Saginaw/Rockford Class A Boys Basketball Final last season at Breslin Center. (Middle) Furseth prepares to call another game during the 1999 Boys Finals weekend at Breslin.
![Beaver Island volleyball](/sites/default/files/2021-08/210830_Island_2H.jpg)
Flights, Flexibility, Fun & New Friends All Parts of Beaver Island's Sports Story
By
Tom Spencer
Special for MHSAA.com
August 27, 2021
Chartered flights and overnight stays for all away games are part of the normal routine for one northern Michigan high school’s student-athletes.
Opportunities to make lots of new friends always come with the games too.
That’s the norm for Beaver Island athletes representing the Lakers in soccer, volleyball and basketball while competing in the Northern Lights League.
“We fly everywhere, and it is awesome,” says second-year soccer coach Bryan Doughman. “I thoroughly enjoy the travel.
“The biggest challenge is the kids forgetting something, and I am ultimately responsible for ‘How am I going to fix this?’”
Beaver Island is the largest island in Lake Michigan, northwest of Charlevoix in the Lower Peninsula and southeast of Manistique in the U.P. The island is home to 600 year-round residents, with 60 students kindergarten through 12th grade, including 17 in grades 9-12 this school year.
Doughman manages a restaurant on the Island. He is a native of Cincinnati. Coaching the co-ed soccer team has permitted him to make his first trips to the Upper Peninsula and Mackinac Island.
But social aspects provide the most benefit for the student-athletes. The Islanders will make their first trip of the season Sept. 15 to Concord Academy Boyne. As they do at home, the Islanders will play a game Friday afternoon and Saturday morning. The overnight experience is provided by the home school.
“The kids will be seeing and meeting new friends,” Doughman noted. That’s what they ultimately look forward to … socially with different people.
“We all know the situation of going to work where you interact with the same people over and over again and can’t wait to meet new people,” he continued. “That’s what they kinda go through their whole lives.”
Beaver Island’s girls volleyball team opened its season Aug. 27 with a pair of losses at Maplewood Baptist in Kinross, located in the eastern Upper Peninsula.
The soccer and volleyball teams will open their home seasons Sept. 10 and 11, hosting Hannahville Nah Tah Wahsh, another U.P. opponent.
“The island community enjoys being able to come and cheer on the island teams,” noted second-year volleyball coach Bridget Martin.
The boys and girls basketball teams will go through their seasons this winter similarly. Athletics and social opportunities are a source of satisfaction for Kerry Smith, Beaver Island’s athletic director. She grew up on the Island and competed for the Islanders.
“The best part of being an AD on an island is the great deal of satisfaction I get from watching our kids be able to connect with other kids their age and play a sport and have a great time doing it,” Smith said. “The kids here know what a privilege it is to be able to have a sports program, and they show their appreciation through their outstanding sportsmanship – and that makes me beam with pride!”
Dianna Behl, Beaver Island’s language arts teacher, will take over the girls basketball team this winter. She has served as the school’s Nordic ski club advisor the past four years and has practiced with the basketball team frequently. She was a three-year letter winner at Charlevoix High School.
She’s expects her team to benefit from players taking part in fall sports.
“I am very excited for our season because many of the players are participating in soccer and volleyball, so they should be in great shape for basketball season,” she said. “I hope to build on their solid base.”
Dan Burton will be entering his seventh season as the varsity boys basketball coach. He’s also developing an elementary basketball program and guiding the middle schoolers. He expects to have a middle schooler or two join the high school team to fill out the roster this winter.
“The best part of coaching is getting these the students an outlet for sports,” said Burton, a business owner on the island. “Otherwise, there’s nothing much else to do in a small town like this.
“Keeping a sports program is the most important thing.”
The soccer team also is relying on middle schoolers as it attempts to find enough players to compete. The co-ed roster is dominated by girls, and the Islanders have only two seniors and one junior on the squad.
“I just hope we can improve a lot on our basics this year,” Doughman said. “I hope to just have fun. The biggest challenge is they’re all first and second-year players, except for a handful.”
Weather is the most difficult challenge of being an island-based sports team, the coaches acknowledged.
“The greatest challenge of coaching an island team is Mother Nature,” Behl said. “The girls practice hard for days and then at the last minute bad weather comes in and the planes aren't flying us out, or our competition in, for the games.
“It is heartbreaking and happens every season,” she continued. “Nonetheless, I am so impressed with how well the girls handle it. It is a life lesson in flexibility, and they are pros.”
Because of those frequent weather changes, spotting the athletic director in the school hallways often is a bad sign.
“The weather is a major frustration and always a factor for us,” Smith said. “On game day, I try not to show my face down in the high school wing because the kids always think I am coming to deliver bad news.”
The school often chooses which teams will go on to MHSAA postseason play based on their success in the league. Beaver Island sent its boys basketball team to Districts last season.
The last Beaver Island team to move past the first round of Districts was the volleyball team in 2013. The Islanders beat Mackinaw City and went on to play Engadine before seeing their season come to an end. The school’s best-ever tournament run was by the soccer team in 2005.
“They were District winners; this was the farthest any team has ever gone,” Smith recalled. “It was a huge celebration. The team was greeted by the fire trucks, parents and pretty much the whole community when they flew home that day.”
Beaver Island anticipates sending the boys basketball team to Districts again this year, and possibly the girls basketball team as well.
Mackinac Island is the Islanders’ favorite place to travel, according to coaches’ consensus. That’s the host for the volleyball and soccer Northern Lights Conference tournaments.
“One of our favorites would have to be Mackinac Island because the girls enjoy flying to another island, riding in the horse drawn carriage and the rare treat of getting to go to a Starbucks,” she said.
Mackinac Island will host conference tournaments for soccer Oct. 16 and volleyball Oct. 23.
Tom Spencer is a longtime MHSAA-registered basketball and soccer official, and former softball and baseball official, and he also has coached in the northern Lower Peninsula area. He previously has written for the Saginaw News, Bay County Sports Page and Midland Daily News. He can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Manistee, Wexford, Missaukee, Roscommon, Ogemaw, Iosco, Alcona, Oscoda, Crawford, Kalkaska, Grand Traverse, Benzie, Leelanau, Antrim, Otsego, Montmorency, Alpena, Presque Isle, Cheboygan, Charlevoix and Emmet counties.
PHOTOS: (Top) Beaver Island's Ella Moon passes during a volleyball match this fall. (2) Olga Burton winds up to serve. (3) Beaver Island plays its lone home soccer game during the 2020 season. (4) The Beaver Island boys basketball team participated in District play this past winter. (Photos courtesy of the Beaver Island athletic department.)