Michael Franke, the longtime team president and co-owner of the Komets, died Sunday night at 63.
Franke, who had been in charge of the business side of the hockey team since his family bought it in 1990, battled skin cancer for decades and T-cell lymphoma in recent years, and his health took a downturn following knee replacement surgery last spring. He spent many of his final weeks in an Ann Arbor, Michigan, hospital that specialized in cancer treatment, though he was recently moved to a Fort Wayne hospice facility.
Franke helped save professional hockey after former owner David Welker moved the International Hockey League franchise, founded in 1952, to Albany, N.Y. Lifelong fans of the Komets, the Franke brothers acted swiftly to buy the Flint Spirits, move them to Fort Wayne and acquire the Komets鈥 name and logo to ensure the continuity of professional hockey at Memorial Coliseum.
Stephen Franke, the owner of MidWest Gloves & Gear, which is based in Chillicothe, Missouri, provided the majority of the money. David Franke became general manager and took over the hockey operations. Michael Franke, whose background was in radio and advertising, took over the business side. Brothers Bill and Richard Franke were also shareholders, though Richard died in June.聽
In the 33 years since the Frankes took over the Komets, there have been changes to management, including adding Scott Sproat to the ownership group so he could work alongside Michael Franke managing the business aspects. But having Michael, David and Stephen as the triumvirate atop the Komets had become synonymous with Komets hockey.
"My brother Mike was 30 years old when he became President of the Komets and directed the franchise from the depths of obscurity in four leagues until we settled into the ECHL," Stephen Franke said in an email, noting Michael Franke was involved in many charitable and economic development initiatives in northeast Indiana.
"Michael was a people person who always had a big smile, kind words and leadership skills that touched all facets of the community. Mike made sure the Komet franchise would remain strong with a well-seasoned staff who all became part of the Komet family. He was my little brother, partner in business and a best friend who will be sorely missed."
Known for his love of Bishop Luers football and for delivering jokes to any passerby, Michael Franke鈥檚 business acumen in the ever-changing landscape of minor-league hockey was also well established. With him at the helm, the Komets ranked at or near the top of hockey attendance annually, regardless of league, the economy or even if there was a pandemic.
"The contributions that Michael has made to Komets hockey in Fort Wayne, and minor-pro hockey throughout North America, are almost immeasurable," Sproat said. "His legacy will continue, though nothing will ever be quite the same without his passion, wit and kindness. Everyone who has ever gotten to know Michael will miss him immensely and simply be thankful for the time they got to share."
Michael Franke had a major voice in the Komets deciding to skate in 2020-21, despite several ECHL teams opting out because of the COVID-19 pandemic, saying: 鈥淭here is definitely a feeling that this is something that we all felt compelled to do for the community."
Despite the financial risk of playing that season, the Komets went on to about break even and captured their first ECHL championship.
鈥淚鈥檓 definitely saddened to hear about the passing of Michael Franke," said forward Shawn Szydlowski, now in his 10th season with the franchise. "My heart, love and support goes to the Franke family. Michael was a great man, who was aways making jokes and keeping the mood light whenever you saw him. He enjoyed making people smile and was very good at it. I鈥檝e known him for 10 years and you would have never known what he was battling through on a daily basis. The organization will truly miss him."
Under the Frankes鈥 ownership, the Komet have skated in five leagues 鈥 the ECHL, two iterations of the IHL, the United Hockey League and the Central Hockey League 鈥 and won seven playoff championships. The first one, 1992-93 in the first IHL, saw Fort Wayne go undefeated during the playoffs, including the famed upset of the San Diego Gulls in the finals.
Michael Franke was forward-thinking about the economics of minor-league hockey, especially after the Komets were pushed out of the first IHL because it had been taken over by high-spending, large-market teams. The decision to move from the Triple-A level of hockey to the Double-A level, when the Komets went from the IHL to the UHL in 1999, was particularly hard for fans to embrace at the time, but it enabled the Komets to remain economically viable while teams in other cities folded.
"From a financial standpoint, it is a much better fit for us in the UHL than it would be in the IHL or the (American Hockey League), due to the fact that player salaries are so much different,'' Franke said in 1999. "Through months and months and maybe even years of research of the other leagues, it became apparent to us the UHL fits really, really well. Everything has an economic, financial ramification."
When the Komets moved to the UHL, the Frankes also made an agreement to sell 75% of the team to New York-based United 95秀视频 Ventures, which was headed by Eric Margenau, who鈥檇 previously owned the Fort Wayne Wizards (now TinCaps) baseball team. The sale was scuttled less than three months later when the Frankes, who were to keep running the day-to-day operations of the Komets, decided there鈥檇 be too much red tape in trying to run a successful team, something they saw up close as they settled on Dave Allison to be head coach but waited several weeks to get it approved.
"The timeliness of decisions that needed to be made on a local basis聽鈥 i.e. the coaching situation聽鈥 started to bog down a little bit, and we started to look at delays in everything,鈥 Michael Franke said then, and the Komets went on to win the UHL's 2003 championship.
Michael Franke聽became a powerful figure in Double-A hockey, shaping business practices, league memberships and rules. In the second iteration of the IHL, he was the head of the Board of Governors and arguably the most powerful person in the league, even more than the commissioner. The Komets had bought the old IHL name and logo for the six-team circuit that emphasized keeping travel costs down and excitement up by having all the teams in Midwest.
"We're trying to redo our league and bring this sport and our league back to a mode of being more fan-friendly. It's no secret right now that hockey in general is having a struggle. That can be seen by the (low) ratings of Stanley Cup games, and we feel we know what the fans are looking for," Franke said in 2007, and his team went on to win three straight championships before the second IHL was absorbed by the CHL.
In the CHL, the Komets won the 2012 title and then left for the ECHL, which had closer ties with the NHL and eventually absorbed all the CHL's team to become the only Double-A hockey league in North America.
Not many could have expected Michael Franke's path to hockey influencer when he was a disc jockey, newscaster and advertising salesman at WOWO. He was sales manager in 1988. And he was also a color commentator, with the late Bob Chase doing play-by-play, from 1984 to 1990. And Michael Franke remained a big proponent of terrestrial radio even in recent years. Seemingly every Komets game game, he鈥檇 stroll over to the visiting broadcaster and ask if they were only on the internet and, if so, why?
Michael Franke's passion for the history of Komets hockey, from his childhood to his radio days, could be felt in the way the team has honored and remained close relationships with so many players from the past, though several of those legendary figures, such as George Drysdale, Len Thornson and Eddie Long, have died in recent years.聽
"Michael was a great, kind man. He was always including the old-timers in the Komet family from the day he and his brothers bought the team," former player Doug Rigler said. "He loved his wife and family deeply. I enjoyed the many discussions over the years with him on family, work and hockey. He was a great inspiration as he fought his battle and still always had his humor going strong. Michael will be missed greatly, but his legacy will continue to inspire us all. His suffering is over and he is now pain free. (Bob Chase), I am sure, was waiting for him beside his family members at the gates. I am truly blessed to call him my friend."
Goaltender Nick Boucher, who backstopped the Komets to four Cups, added: 鈥淭he Komets are unique in that it is a family business and the owners are involved in the day-to-day operations. Every player that puts on the Komet sweater is made to feel like a part of the family by the Frankes.
鈥淔or me, Michael was always the brother that was one to make wise cracks and tease the players. Always lighthearted and unceasingly smiling and energetic, I will miss visiting him in the team offices and press box. I feel privileged to have crossed his path.鈥
Lincoln Kaleigh Schrock, a former Komets captain and native of Fort Wayne, who now manages the SportONE/Parkview Icehouse, said: "My heart hurts for the Franke family and the Komets organization. Although I didn't know him at the time, (Michael Franke) helped shape great memories I had growing up and falling in love with Komet hockey. Getting to know him as a player and a friend helped me understand why the organization has been so successful. Michael genuinely cared about his players and (the) fans. I felt that as a fan, as a player, and will cherish how he made me feel as a friend."
Michael Franke enjoyed engaging with fans, thanking them in the concourse for coming to Memorial Coliseum, even if they spat on his shoe, as he once said a fan, 鈥渁n older lady from Toledo,鈥 did after a Walleye victory at the Coliseum. 鈥淚t was strange to me," he said with a laugh, "they鈥檇 just eliminated us from the playoffs.鈥
Born in Fort Wayne on May 16, 1960, Franke graduated from Bishop Luers in 1978 and attended IPFW, where he earned a bachelor鈥檚 degree in communications in 1982. He is survived by his wife, Theresa; children Katie and James; sister Mary; and brothers David, Stephen and Bill.
鈥淢ichael was the soul of our family and the Komets. Our family is deeply saddened and trying to cope with Mike鈥檚 passing,鈥 David Franke said in a news release. 鈥淜omet hockey was a part of Michael鈥檚 life as a young boy. Becoming the Komets president was a lifelong dream he realized in the summer of 1990. Michael deeply loved his family, the Komets, and the Fort Wayne community. Michael was a good man, a loving husband, father, uncle, and brother. He is reunited with our mom, dad, brother Richard, sister-in-law Barbara, and cousin/brother Tommy Franke. Please keep his wife Teresa, daughter Katie, her husband Eric, and Michael鈥檚 son James in your prayers. As our dad told us many times, nothing stays the same; things change, and we keep moving forward. We will move forward, but with heavy hearts.鈥
Funeral details were not yet available.
