When Joel Franck and Tim Brick take to the airwaves tonight (Thursday) to broadcast the Traverse City Central Trojans high school football game from Bay City Western, it will mark two anniversaries: the 75th year WTCM has broadcast sports live across northern Michigan, and 20 years of the duo doing games together.

“It would be nearly impossible to know if it is the longest continuous run of a station broadcasting high school sports, but it is very likely the longest,” says Brick, who serves as game analyst.

The young station’s first venture into sports broadcasting took place shortly after WTCM-AM first signed on on Jan. 8, 1941, almost a year before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.

“As the story goes, Les Biederman, the founder of the station, was asked if we would be carrying an upcoming Trojan basketball game,” says Jack O’Malley, longtime WTCM-FM radio host. “So he got things ready and promoted the fact that we would carry the game."

“The afternoon of the game, the (school) superintendent came to Les and told him the local newspaper objected to the coverage. The paper’s concern? ‘Who would read about the game if everyone knew the outcome?’ So when broadcast time arrived, the announcement was made that WTCM was not allowed the carry the game.”

But the clever broadcasters had a trick up their sleeve.

“The mics were left on and the sounds of the game could be heard, but no play-by-play,” says O’Malley. “Before the half ended, the school official showed up at the station and told Les the calls had come in -- broadcast the game. So 75 years later, here we are!”

Tonight will also mark Franck and Brick’s 20th year of broadcasting TC Central and TC West football.

“I just love doing the games,” says Franck. “I love the overall atmosphere. And Tim eats and breathes football.”

Brick is a walking encyclopedia of football, dating back to his days as an outstanding Traverse City St. Francis player and later coach at St. Francis and Central. During the games, he handles the stats, while Franck focuses on the play-by-play.

Get them together out of the booth and the football stories fly. One game that stands out in Brick’s memory is a contest with Benton Harbor. As the game wound down, a conflict erupted. “It was a fight on the Benton Harbor sideline,” he recalls. “It was Benton Harbor vs. Benton Harbor, player against player, coach against coach. They were fightin’ each other, going at it. It was crazy.”

One play Franck will never forget took place during the opening season of TC West football. “On the opening kickoff, the very first play in school history, TC West ran it back for a touchdown,” he recalls. “That was something!”

Over the past 20 years, Brick and Franck have logged thousands of miles driving to all corners of the state, and they have a few rituals. “Tim always drives,” says Franck. “He knows all the shortcuts. And we always stop at a McDonalds. We’ll drive by all the Burger Kings to find a McDonalds. I get a #2 (combo) and Tim gets a #4.”

“We feel very privileged to be part of the history of WTCM, part of that great heritage,” says Franck. “Not many radio stations broadcast high school football. It’s very special, and we don’t take it lightly.”

The duo has 10 Central and West football games tentatively marked on this year’s schedule, starting tonight. They attempt to split broadcasts evenly between the two schools, but sometimes the drama of the season dictates late season game broadcasts.