Blean Calkins

Blean Anson Calkins (August 11, 1921 in Marshalltown, Iowa – March 16, 2003 in Muscatine, Iowa) was a sports radio broadcaster for over 30 years. He was President of the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association (NSSA) from 1978 to 1981,[1] and served on the NSSA Board with such contemporaries as Curt Gowdy, Chris Schenkel, Keith Jackson and Ray Scott. He was named Iowa's Sportscaster of the Year four times.[2]

Calkins broadcast Iowa Hawkeyes basketball and football home games along with Iowa high school athletics on KWPC out of Muscatine for over 30 years.[1] Calkins also did morning drive sports on album rock 99 Plus through most of the 1980s, and sold advertising on at KFMH and KWPC.[3]

Awards

  • Iowa Sportscaster of the Year award: 1969, 1974, 1975, 1976[1]
  • He received the News Media Award in 1982 from the Iowa High School Athletics Association[4]
  • Iowa High School Athletic Directors Association award for Outstanding Contributions to High School Athletics, 1993[2]

Personal life

Blean Calkins was married to Bonnie Calkins, and had a son, Doug.[4] His wife died in 1998, and he died in his sleep at home in Muscatine in 2003, at the age of 81.[1] He had been living with a heart ailment since suffering a massive heart attack in 1989.[2]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Doxsie, Don (March 20, 2003). "Boy's tourney was his favorite event". Quad-City Times. p. 23 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ^ a b c "Blean Calkins". The Muscatine Journal. December 18, 1999. p. 38 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ Maly, Ron (April 23, 1978). "Sportcasting is a sideline for Iowan Blean Calkins". The Des Moines Register. p. 124 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ a b "Calkins Honored". The Muscatine Journal. March 10, 1982. p. 10 – via Newspapers.com.
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