ESPN founder Bill Rasmussen, who turned a $9,000 credit-card advance and a sweltering car ride with his son into a sports television powerhouse, died Tuesday at his Florida home from the effects of Parkinson’s disease at age 93.
“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. “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.”
Rasmussen’s big idea arrived at a bruising moment. The New England Whalers had fired him from his communications director job in 1978, but instead of retreating, the former sportscaster began sketching a cable channel that would give fans more than the few minutes of scores available on nightly news programs.
Rasmussen entered radio and television at 30, called hockey and basketball and later built radio networks for the University of Massachusetts. He told Tim Ferriss in 2017 that each setback left him disappointed but not defeated.
“You can’t stop living. It’s not the end of the world,” Rasmussen said.
The plan became a family affair. In a 2012 Forbes interview, Rasmussen recalled driving with his son Scott to daughter Lynn’s Sweet 16 party on Aug. 16, 1978. The air conditioner in their blue Toyota Corolla had quit, Scott held a yellow legal pad and the pair began dreaming up enough programming to fill 8,760 hours a year.
“I believe the harder you work the luckier you are,” Rasmussen said. “That’s been my mantra forever.”
Related: ESPN Broadcaster Chris Mortensen Exits to Focus on ‘Family, Faith’
Rasmussen’s family backed more than the dream. He said Scott, his parents and his siblings put money into the fledgling company while seven potential investors turned him down. Getty Oil finally said yes in February 1979, and ESPN launched Sept. 7 with Bill as its first president and CEO and Scott as his co-founder.
When Ferriss asked whether Rasmussen’s wife, Lois, had worried about the risk, he remembered her steady support.
“She knew all of it right down the line, yeah,” Rasmussen said. “She was there. For 56 years, she was there. So, it was okay.”
ESPN took far more than one man’s brainstorm. Rasmussen chased meetings with leagues, cable operators, sponsors and investors, while a young team in Bristol, Connecticut, built the new operation from scratch. The pitch was plain enough: sports for sports fans, all day, every day.
“Bill was our George Washington and a good friend,” longtime ESPN anchor 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.”
That optimism endured when Rasmussen faced Parkinson’s disease. During a 2023 leadership podcast interview, he explained that his neurologist urged him to exercise both his body and his mind, prompting him to write every day and eventually finish another book about ESPN.
“You just stay persistent, stay positive and go forward,” Rasmussen said. “I got 90 years and I might as well go for 100. At least 100.”
He offered the same sturdy counsel to entrepreneurs and people living with Parkinson’s: expect setbacks, keep moving and begin the day by doing one good thing. His compact motto fit in six words: “Always be curious, never be complacent.”
Rasmussen did not keep Parkinson’s private. In a 2019 American Parkinson Disease Association interview, he said he wanted to use his voice to help others seek care and push research forward.
“Why be embarrassed? Seek help. Let’s see what we can do to make life better,” Rasmussen said.
Rasmussen’s wife of 56 years, Lois, died in 2011. He is survived by sons Scott and Glenn; daughter Lynn Van Hollebeke; seven grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren. His family helped launch ESPN, and Rasmussen kept talking about the hard work, teamwork and gratitude behind it long after opening night.
Read Next: ESPN College Football Analyst Trusts God’s Plan: ‘Love Where God Has Me’
Questions or comments? Please write to us here.
