Bill Rasmussen, ESPN’s Founder, Dies at 93
Bill Rasmussen, a former local-news sports director who parlayed an interest in the nascent business of satellite television into the launch of the sports-media giant known as ESPN, has died after a battle with Parkinson’s disease. The entrepreneur and founder was 93 years old. Rasmussen in 1978 was idling in traffic on Connecticut’s Interstate 84 […]
Bill Rasmussen, the founder of ESPN, has died at the age of 93. According to Variety, he had been battling Parkinson's disease. Rasmussen came up with the idea for an all-sports network in 1978 while stuck in traffic on Connecticut's Interstate 84, along with his son Scott Rasmussen and Ed Eagan, as reported by The Hollywood Reporter.
Rasmussen served as the network's first president and CEO when ESPN launched in September 1979. TheWrap reported that ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro released a statement praising Rasmussen's vision, passion, and hard work in building the network.
Rasmussen's legacy will be remembered as a key part of ESPN's culture. TheWrap also mentioned that Pitaro cherished the memory of Rasmussen throwing the ceremonial first pitch at Fenway Park in Boston to celebrate ESPN's 40th anniversary.
Brief written by urgent.news from Variety, TheWrap, The Hollywood Reporter — 3 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
