ESPN co-founder Bill Rasmussen, visionary behind sports network, dies at 93
Bill Rasmussen, the visionary who co-founded ESPN and helped transform sports broadcasting, died Tuesday at his home in Florida. He was 93.
Rasmussen died from complications related to Parkinson’s disease, according to ESPN historian Mike Soltys. Rasmussen revealed in 2019 that he had been diagnosed with the degenerative condition five years earlier.
Rasmussen and his son, Scott, created the concept for a television network devoted entirely to sports around the clock. Their idea ultimately changed how Americans consumed sports, though neither remained with the company for long. They were forced out in 1980, just a year after ESPN launched, after Getty Oil became the network’s majority owner.
The original vision was far more modest. Rasmussen initially imagined a cable channel focused on sports in Connecticut. After encountering skepticism from cable operators, the idea evolved into a national network using satellite technology.
ESPN officially went on the air Sept. 7, 1979. George Grande hosted the first edition of “SportsCenter,” followed by the network’s first live event, a slow-pitch softball game between the Kentucky Bourbons and Milwaukee Schlitz.
The Rasmussens secured financial backing from Getty Oil and obtained broadcasting rights from the NCAA, helping make the ambitious project possible. ESPN’s first studio in Bristol, Connecticut, was still under construction when the network began broadcasting.
Rasmussen often recalled being told there was not enough sports programming to sustain a 24-hour network. Rather than being discouraged, he viewed the skepticism as motivation.
After the Rasmussens were pushed out, Getty owned 85% of ESPN. Texaco later acquired Getty and sold its stake in the network to ABC in 1984.
Rasmussen and ESPN remained distant for years before the company invited him back for its 20th anniversary celebration in 1999. He was subsequently embraced as the driving force behind the network’s creation and became a prominent figure at ESPN anniversary events. He traveled around the country during ESPN’s 40th anniversary in 2019, speaking at events for ESPN and the Walt Disney Co.
Former ESPN anchor Chris Berman, who joined the network shortly after its launch, described Rasmussen as a foundational figure in the company’s history and praised his optimism and generosity.
Rasmussen was born in Chicago and earned degrees from DePauw University and Rutgers University. He served in the Air Force before starting an advertising services business and later working as a radio and television broadcaster during the 1960s.
In 1974, he became public relations director for the New England Whalers of the World Hockey Association in Hartford, Connecticut. After the team dismissed its entire front office in 1978, Rasmussen began working with his son on the idea of bringing sports programming to cable television.
The pair helped finance their early efforts with a $9,000 credit card advance, taking a major financial risk on an idea that eventually became one of the most influential television networks in history.
Rasmussen was inducted into the Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame in 2025.
He was preceded in death by his wife of 56 years, Lois, who died in 2011. He is survived by his sons Scott and Glenn, daughter Lynn, seven grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. His brothers Robert and Donald, sister Vivien and a grandson also preceded him in death.
Comments
Post a Comment