Bill Rasmussen Had A Crazy Idea. It Became ESPN

Bill Rasmussen, the founder of ESPN, passed away on August 18 at the age of 93 due to the effects of Parkinson's disease. In August 1978, while stuck in traffic with his son on Interstate 84, Rasmussen and Scott were brainstorming ideas to fill the 8,760 hours of satellite capacity they had available. Scott suggested playing sports all day, which sparked the idea for ESPN.

Rasmussen's broadcasting career began in western Massachusetts in the 1960s, where he became the communications director for the New England Whalers in the World Hockey Association. After being fired from the Whalers in 1978, Rasmussen started exploring the possibility of creating a cable sports operation. Rasmussen's vision and perseverance were crucial in turning his idea of a 24-hour sports network into reality.

ESPN launched on September 7, 1979, with SportsCenter as its opening show. The network faced challenges in securing programming, attracting investors, and convincing advertisers to invest in a channel that few people had cable for at the time. Rasmussen secured $9,000 in credit cards and $75,000 in financing to start the company.

He also persuaded Getty Oil to invest $10 million for an 85% stake in the company. ESPN's first president was Chet Simmons, who was brought in by Rasmussen after he was stripped of day-to-day authority. Rasmussen left ESPN in 1980 but returned for the network's 20th anniversary in 1999. ESPN became a family culture for Steve Anderson, who credits Rasmussen with establishing the bond and camaraderie among its early employees.