Articles

“He was a tireless and enthusiastic representative of all that is good and kind in human nature.” — James J. Koelbl, DDS, Dean, WVU School of Dentistry

From WVU athletics to the WVU School of Dentistry, they came together Friday night to remember and celebrate the life of Frank “Doc” Stevens. Stevens died Nov. 2, 2004.

Stevens had an impact on both groups at WVU. He was the longtime P.A. announcer for Mountaineers’ sporting events, coining such phrases as “Let’s bring on the Mountaineers.” Dr. Stevens was also associate professor and assistant dean for alumni, public affairs and recruitment at the WVU School of Dentistry.

Dr. Robert D’Alessandri, vice president for Health Sciences, said “we ask a lot of our people. We ask them to be teachers, researchers, care for patients, serve on committees, and then we ask them for more. We want them to be part of the community. Frank Stevens did that. He became a role model for ... tens of thousands of WVU fans.”

“He ‘left’ radio work to become a dentist. He used to say he had a face for radio. He gave freely of himself.”

Dr. James J. Koelbl, dean, WVU School of Dentistry, said, “Frank was an honest man. What he told me I believed it. Frank told me Parkersburg was 20 minutes from Clarksburg, and I still, to this day, believe it, because Frank told me it was. In the movie, ‘It’s a Wonderful Life,’ the guy was shown what it would be like if he never existed, the impact he had on other people. There would have been a hole in this world if Frank had never lived.”

Stevens would be remembered as the announcer for WVU football and basketball games, and for the 19 years he gave to the WVU School of Dentistry. He retired in 2003. He served dentistry as the 6th District Trustee of the American Dental Association and as president of the West Virginia Dental Association.

Don Wilcox, director of bands at WVU, said Stevens and his wife of 50 years, Marian “Mim” Spelsberg Stevens, always went to the games with the band, riding the bus. “They were as much as the band as the tuba section is the band. They could have gone with the VIP crowd, but they always traveled with Bus 1.”

“He was the signature of our games,” Mike Parsons, associate athletic director, said. “Through our asbestos years at the Coliseum when we had to travel elsewhere to play, Frank always made any stadium feel like home.”

Stevens retired in June 2004 after 44 years serving WVU athletics.

He was born in Toledo, Ohio, on June 19, 1929, and became known as “Doc” as a student at WVU’s dental school in the late 1950s and early 1960s. In the 1960s, Jim Carlen, then the football coach at WVU, wanted his players to come out onto the field as a team. The result was, “Let’s bring on the Mountaineers.” A slide show in Stevens’ own words was presented, where he said, “44 years has been quite a run.”

Stevens entered WVU’s dental school in 1958 and took a job on the late shift at WAJR in Morgantown to make some extra money. He met up with Eddie Barrett, who suggested that Stevens apply for the P.A. announcer opening.

Dr. Everett Bowling, past chairman, West Virginia International College of Dentists, said Stevens was a “regular life person. Broadcasting at the old field house, announcing the team, his voice brought out the goosebumps and turned your blood blue and gold.”

Koelbl said Stevens was “one of the nicest gentlemen I have ever had the pleasure to know. He will be remembered for his love of his family, his profession, and WVU, and will be sorely missed by all.”

2/19/2005