The former sports broadcaster and his son Scott came up with the idea for an all-sports network in 1978 while stuck in traffic
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NEED TO KNOW
- ESPN co-founder Bill Rasmussen has died at the age of 93
- Rasmussen and his son, Scott, came up with the idea of an all-sports network in 1978 while stuck in traffic
- The network launched just over a year later
Bill Rasmussen, a former sports broadcaster and public relations executive who founded ESPN, has died at the age of 93, the network announced.
Rasmussen died at his Florida home from the effects of Parkinson’s Disease.
“Bill was a remarkable man — a visionary and an innovator who conceived the idea of a network entirely devoted to sports,” ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro said in a statement on Tuesday, Aug. 18. “Quite simply, none of us would be here today if it wasn’t for Bill’s passion and all the hard work and entrepreneurial spirit he put into building ESPN in the late 1970s — key aspects of our company culture that still carry on to this day.”
He added, “One of my greatest thrills since joining ESPN was getting to know Bill on a personal level. I will always cherish the memory of catching the ceremonial first pitch that he threw at Fenway Park in Boston in celebration of our 40th anniversary. His legacy will always be a part of ESPN.”
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Rasmussen, who had just been fired as the communications director for hockey’s Hartford Whalers, and his son Scott came up with the idea of starting an all-sports network one summer’s day in 1978 when they were stuck in traffic, on their way from Connecticut to the New Jersey shore.
The father and son, avid sports fans, realized there could be a need for a network devoted solely to sports.
Thirteen months later, ESPN was launched in 1.4 million homes, on Sept. 7, 1979.
The opening show? SportsCenter, hosted by Lee Leonard and George Grande.
Rasmussen stepped away from ESPN a year later, after investors — Getty Oil purchased 85% of ESPN — decided to remove him, according to the Stuart Evey’s book Those Guys Have All the Fun: Inside the World of ESPN.
After leaving the network, Rasmussen worked on other media ventures and wrote his own book about his ESPN experience, Sports Junkies Rejoice: The Birth of ESPN.
“I believe the harder you work, the luckier you are,” Rasmussen told Forbes in a 2012 interview. “That’s been my mantra forever. Growing up at the end of the Depression and going into World War II, it was instilled in us that we would be positive and do things. I’ve been touring college campuses over the past three years, speaking to student groups, and I encourage budding entrepreneurs to pursue their ideas, even if they don’t understand all the logistics.”
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Through it all, the broadcasting pioneer is being remembered for his abiding legacy.
“Bill was our George Washington and a good friend,” said veteran anchor Chris Berman, who joined ESPN three weeks after the original network launch in 1979. “He was such a grateful person and every sports fan can be grateful for Bill. He wasn’t a glass half-full guy; his glass was always overflowing with optimism. He greeted everyone with a smile and we can all smile knowing Bill’s legacy.”
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