In his work as a producer and part-time host at the sports talk radio station 93.7 The Fan, Baldwin alum Austin Bechtold has become accustomed to talking to big names in the sports world.
But the most exciting moment of his broadcasting career to date almost didn’t happen.
The event was a farewell broadcast for Ron Cook, a Pittsburgh Post-Gazette writer and a host at The Fan.
“He was a legend in this area for his sportswriting and sports broadcasting. We joke that he’s been doing it for a hundred years,” Bechtold, a Baldwin Class of 2019 alum, said.
For Cook’s last show, the station had rounded up many guests from the sports world to call in and salute Cook. These included Cincinnati Reds manager Terry Francona, legendary WPIAL football coach Jim Render, and former Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger.
But everyone at The Fan wanted the final segment of the farewell show to be the highlight. And it was up to Bechtold to set it up.
“I was working as the producer. We were supposed to have Joe Greene, the greatest Steeler of all time, and Joe Namath, the old quarterback for the New York Jets,” Bechtold said.
Greene was chosen for his legendary career with the Steelers. But Namath, like Cook, is from Beaver County.
When Bechtold first called both of them, he got no response.
“I eventually got Joe Greene on the line,” Bechtold said. “I kept calling Joe Namath on our hotline. I probably called him 15 times and I never got an answer, and I left him a couple messages.”
During the broadcast, with five minutes left in the show, Namath called the show’s Fan hotline.
“It was like by the grace of God we were able to get Joe Namath on the air to talk to Ron Cook,” Bechtold said. “I got to talk to the greatest Steeler ever and one of the greatest athletes of all time – Joe Greene and Joe Namath – in the span of 10 minutes. It was insane.”
A Baldwin beginning
Bechtold’s love for journalism started during his time with the Purbalite at Baldwin High School.
“Journalism in the Purbalite is where it really all began – just a couple weeks in,” Bechtold said.
Bechtold originally joined the Purbalite because his friends were on staff, but when he began getting into the swing of things, he started to realize the perks of journalism.
“Once we really started to get into the run of writing stories – whether it be columns on the Steelers or the Pirates or writing about Baldwin sports – I just fell in love with it,” Bechtold said. “I loved being able to write about players and people I went to school with.”
Bechtold grew up a fan of the Pirates, Steelers, and Penguins, and he and his dad watched all the games together. After he joined the Purbalite, Bechtold would give feedback on the games they watch, as if he were writing a story on it.
After he graduated from Baldwin, Bechtold attended Robert Morris University, where he received the Newcomer of the Year award and was the assistant sports editor. But it was after he transferred to Waynesburg University that he received some integral experience in broadcasting.
“I always knew I wanted to work in sports, but I never knew what realm I wanted to work in,” Bechtold said. “I wanted to be able to get the best of both worlds. I wanted to be able to write and also be able to do some broadcasting.”
Bechtold became sports editor of Waynesburg’s school newspaper, the Yellow Jacket. He graduated in 2023, earning a degree in sports media with a focus in broadcasting.
But Bechtold didn’t just stumble upon Waynesburg’s journalism program. Lanny Frattare, who spent 33 years as the Pittsburgh Pirates’ play-by-play announcer, recruited him back while he was at Baldwin.
After retiring from his broadcasting career with the Pirates, Frattare became an assistant professor in Waynesburg’s Department of Communications and served for 16 years.
Frattare, after retiring from his broadcasting career with the Pirates, became an assistant professor in Waynesburg’s Department of Communications and served for 16 years.
“When (Austin) was graduating from Baldwin, I had conversations with him, hoping that I could get him to come to Waynesburg,” Frattare said. “But he chose to go to Robert Morris. And yet, I told him that I would welcome an opportunity to stay in touch with him. After two years at Robert Morris, he called me and we discussed him coming to Waynesburg.”
Bechtold’s confidence and level of preparedness stood out to Frattare right away.
“He knows that to get the most out of his talent, he has to put in hours and hours of preparation, and he’s always done that,” Frattare said.
Bechtold said Frattare was a key figure in his education, providing a guide for how to call a sports game.
“Lanny Frattare is the reason that I transferred to Waynesburg,” Bechtold said. “He had one of, if not the greatest, impacts on me in my broadcasting journey.”
Bechtold always knew that sports reporting was his calling, but getting there is not an easy feat.
“Everyone experiences bumps in the road,” Bechtold said. “But you have to brush it off. You need thick skin in this business. It’s hard, and you’re learning constantly.”
Building a network
One learning curve that Bechtold had to master was figuring out how to work with sources in the real world.
“They didn’t really teach sources and how to handle that in school,” Bechtold said. “So that’s one thing I had to navigate on my own and I’m still trying to navigate as I work more in the journalism industry.”
Another person whom Bechtold has looked up to is Kevin Gorman, a sports reporter for the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Bechtold met Gorman at Baldwin, when he invited Gorman and Y108 broadcaster Chris Mack – both Baldwin alums – to come back to Baldwin for a Purbalite podcast.
Gorman remembers that Bechtold seemed very eager to have a career in sports journalism.
“He had an enthusiasm for it that was beyond your typical high school student,” Gorman said. “You could tell that it was very much his goal to make it a career, even at a young age.”
After getting to know Gorman while he was in high school, Bechtold now has found Gorman to be a great person to bounce ideas off of and receive writing tips from.
Bechtold’s first job was with Pittsburgh Sports Now, covering Robert Morris and Pitt basketball. He had completed an internship with the outlet through Alan Saunders, the founder of the site Steelers Now, which is part of Pittsburgh Sports Now.
“(Saunders) was a guest speaker in one of my sports writing classes at Robert Morris,” Bechtold said. “As I was going into my junior year at Waynesburg, I interned under him.”
Even after getting a job with The Fan, Bechtold is still involved with Pittsburgh Sports Now, but primarily writes for Nittany Sports Now, which covers Penn State sports.
Additionally, he still works for the Fighting Highlanders Sports Network, which covers Baldwin High School athletics.
“I started working for the Fighting Highlanders Sports Network as a broadcaster during the inaugural 2020 football season during the pandemic,” Bechtold said. Fellow Baldwin alum “Jack Hillgrove was the play-by-play man and was calling games by himself before I joined midway through the season.”
Bechtold once had to call a game from the end zone without a headset and talking into a stationary microphone after there wasn’t enough room in the press box. Nevertheless, he continues to enjoy covering high school sports, even with his job at The Fan.
“It’s where I had my start,” Bechtold said. “I love covering Baldwin basketball and have made lifelong friendships with many families.
On the side, Bechtold stars in promotional videos for Definitely You, a sports store in Brentwood.
“I’ve been shopping there for years and worked there for a few years while in college,” Bechtold said. “The owner, Bruce Bobak, is a great guy, and we started creating fun social media videos to promote apparel and other items in the store. I’ve even been recognized at a Pirates game based on one of the social videos, which shows the impact it can have for Bruce and the great store.”
Another inspiration for Bechtold has been Joe Starkey, a radio host and Pittsburgh Post-Gazette writer with whom Bechtold works at 93.7 The Fan.
“His writing and powerful presence on the air is incredible,” Bechtold said of Starkey.
Bechtold got involved with Audacy, the company that owns The Fan as well other radio stations such as Y108 and KDKA, after his junior year at Waynesburg. He worked as a part-time producer for KDKA radio.
But he always knew that he wanted to work with The Fan ultimately. And after a year at KDKA, he snagged a producing position with The Fan.
While Bechtold was working as a producer on Starkey’s sports talk radio show, Starkey recommended that he hop on the show with him.
“He’s smart, he’s quick and good on the air,” Starkey said. “That’s really helpful when I’m doing the shows – to have somebody who’s producing on one hand but also can join me on the air.”
One more thing that Bechtold has gained from Starkey is a nickname: “City Limits.”
“Joe came up with my nickname, City Limits, after weeks of trying to come up with a nickname for me,” Bechtold said. “Joe gives everybody a nickname, and Austin City Limits came from the music TV show in Austin, Texas, called Austin City Limits.
This nickname has become known to listeners of The Fan. Bechtold said that even his friends and people he encounters in public refer to him as “City Limits.”
Bechtold has since been given the opportunity to occasionally host his own shows on The Fan.
“I love hosting my own shows,” Bechtold said. “The guys have been very supportive of me in my career, giving me advice and feedback. Listening to Joe Starkey, Bob Pompeani, Andrew Fillipponi and Chris Mueller every day growing up and now working with them and bouncing my ideas off them has been really cool.”
One day, Bechtold hopes to be a full-time host. But he remains grateful for the position he has now.
“God’s blessed me with so many great things,” Bechtold said. “I’m aware of it and very thankful for this. It’s really cool at 23 to be in the position in my career that I am in.”
