ESPN Finance Pioneer George Conner Passes Away at 84

George Conner, the former Getty Oil executive whose financial stewardship was instrumental in the birth of ESPN, has passed away at the age of 84.

A 1964 graduate of the University of Tulsa, Conner’s career began at Skelly Oil before its absorption into Getty Oil, a lineage that eventually made him the pivotal gatekeeper for ESPN history.

While the Rasmussen family conceptualized the 24-hour sports cycle, it was Conner's navigation of the internal Getty bureaucracy to secure the initial $10 million investment that transformed a high-risk proposal into a functional reality. Conner saw the mathematical potential of a dedicated satellite transponder at a time when industry skeptics doubted there was sufficient content to fill a 24-hour broadcast day. His ability to bridge the gap between corporate fiscal reality and the Rasmussens’ creative ambition provided the lifeline necessary for the network's September 7, 1979, launch.

The technical and financial architecture Conner established allowed ESPN to survive long enough to transition through the major corporate acquisitions of the 1980s, moving from Getty to ABC and eventually Disney. His legacy as a foundational pillar of sports media will be featured in the upcoming documentary Sports Heaven: The Birth of ESPN. In his honor, donations are being directed to Peninsula State Park and the Peninsula School of Art.