Francis D. “Fritz” Van Duyse, a longtime sports broadcaster and journalist who started writing for the Door County Advocate at age 12, died Friday, April 17. He was 93.
Born May 2, 1926, in Sturgeon Bay to Francis L. and Gertrude (Simon) Van Duyse, he graduated from Sturgeon Bay High School in 1944. After graduating, Van Duyse enlisted in the U.S. Navy and served in the southwestern Pacific Ocean during World War II.
Van Duyse’s love of sports and journalism started at an early age. He printed his own weekly sports paper on a toy press at age 8, and by age 12 he contributed sports articles to the Advocate, his hometown newspaper. In high school, he started covering high school sports for the paper.
After returning from the war, Van Duyse attended Eau Claire State, now UW-Eau Claire. He served as sports editor of The Spectator student newspaper before transferring to Spencerian business college in Milwaukee, where he graduated with a degree in business administration.
Van Duyse worked as a radio broadcaster for much of his life, calling play-by-play for a variety of sports. He later returned to his publishing roots, producing travel guides and football publications in the 1960s and 1970s.
A private funeral mass will be held due to COVID-19 restrictions, with a memorial celebration of life for Van Duyse to be held later this year.
