Bill Rasmussen, the visionary founder of ESPN who brought 24-hour sports coverage to the world in 1979, died on Tuesday at the age of 93.
He passed away at his home in Florida from the effects of Parkinson’s disease, ESPN announced on social media.
“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. “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.”
Rasmussen co-founded the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network along with his son, Scott, with Bill Rasmussen serving as ESPN’s first president and CEO.
“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 September 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.”
Rasmussen left the network after a few years, later writing a book about his experience called, “Sports Junkies Rejoice: The Birth of ESPN.”
“I believe the harder you work the luckier you are,” he 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.”
Rasmussen was predeceased by his wife of 56 years, Lois, in 2011. He is survived by two sons and a daughter, seven grandchildren and two great-grandchildren, according to ESPN.
–Field Level Media
