ESPN Founder Bill Rasmussen has Passed Away at 93

ESPN is a key pillar in the corporate castle that Disney has built over the last couple of decades. While Disney itself has done a lot to build the rand into the powerhouse it is, none of that would have been possible without William F. Rasmussen.

Today ESPN announced that William F. Rasmussen, the former broadcaster who first had the idea to launch a 24 hour sports network has passed away from complications due to Parkinson's disease. he was 93.

Bill Rasmussen began his career in broadcasting in Massachusetts in 1962. He worked as a sports director and news director, did play-by-play for many sports broadcasts and also worked in PR for the New England Whalers profession hockey team. His major contribution to broadcasting, however, would come in the late 1970s with the advent of cable television. Rasmussen and his son Scott invested early in satellite television before they even knew what they planned to do with it. With his history in the world of sports broadcasting, and just being a big fan of sports, the idea of a network dedicated to sports made perfect sense. The Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, later shortened to ESPN, launched in 1979 in 1.4 million homes.

The Twitter account for ESPN's SportCenter, which has been airing continuously since the station launched, posted the original ESPN launch broadcast as a thank you to Rasmussen. It reveals that some of the first broadcasts on the channel were softball games.

For decades ESPN would air 24 hours of sports, but frequently it would be broadcasts you wouldn't find elsewhere on TV, as ESPN didn't have the right to the likes of professional baseball or football. Over time, however, ESPN's power would grow as it became a destination for fans of all sports.

Rasmussen retired from ESPN in 1980, but would remain involved in sports as a consultant and other sports start up ventures. In 2019 Rasmussen threw out the first pitch at a New York Yankees-Boston Red Sox Major League Baseball game at Fenway Park alongside ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro to celebrate ESPN's 40th anniversary. Following the announcement of Rasmussen's passing Pitaro said, "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.”

Another who knew the ESPN founder well, new Disney Legend Chris Berman said, "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.” During his Disney Legend acceptance speech Berman mentioned that ESPN was a key reason that Disney purchased ABC/Capital Cities in the first place, seeing the importance of what had been made.

Bill Rasmussen's idea was truly a great one, and one that is still bearing fruit as ESPN has only continued to grow under Disney ownership. He will clearly be missed by those who knew him, but his legacy is strong.