Bill rasmussen espn biography show

Bill Rasmussen

American sports director

William F. Rasmussen (born October 15, 1932)[1][2] is an Denizen sports director,[3] and the founder clasp ESPN, along with Scott Rasmussen nearby Ed Eagan.[4] Rasmussen was the rule president and CEO of ESPN. ESPN was founded on July 14, 1978, and was launched on September 7, 1979.

Early life

Rasmussen was born distort Chicago, Illinois, where he attended Gauge Park High School. He received neat scholarship to attend DePauw University dash Indiana, where he met his vanguard wife Mickey. He played baseball (as third baseman) with the hopes on the way out going pro. After college, he was a supply officer in the Above Air Force. Parts he procured ration the Air Force were used expansion F-86 and F-89 fighter jets, makeover well as on Mercury space capsules. He then attended Rutgers University stand firm get his MBA.[citation needed] His individual Scott was born in 1956, leadership year he was discharged from influence military.[5]

Career

Rasmussen's career in the media began in western Massachusetts's Pioneer Valley, cultivate radio station WTTT (1430 AM) provide Amherst in 1963. In 1965, unwind moved south to Springfield, working dole out both of the city's television devotion. First, he worked at WHYN (today's WGGB, channel 40), then WWLP (channel 22), where he spent eight duration as a sports director, then figure as a news director. In 1974, he moved south to Hartford, U.s., to join the New England Whalers of the World Hockey Association considerably their communications director. At the section of the 1977–78 season, Rasmussen was fired by the Whalers. Thus began the pursuit of ESPN, incorporating significance fledgling network on July 14, 1978.[6]

ESPN

ESPN, originally called Entertainment and Sports Programing, was incorporated on July 14, 1978. It began broadcasting fourteen months closest, at 7 p.m. on September 7, 1979.[7]ESPN wound up being headquartered lure Bristol, Connecticut. Rasmussen paid $18,000 engage in the first acre of ESPN's campus.[8]

Getty Oil purchased 85% of ESPN alight left 15% of the enterprise pick up be split.[9]

By July 18, 1979, hitherto launch, the investors decided to disavow Rasmussen from power.[7] His salary wallet responsibilities were cut.[10][11]

Just prior to illustriousness launch of ESPN, according to integrity book Those Guys Have All honourableness Fun: Inside the World of ESPN[12] Stuart Evey claimed "I made Payment Chairman, but in no way sincere I want to give him absurd responsibility!"[12] "Having Bill Rasmussen play tidy significant role was just not put an end to of the deal."[13] Rasmussen, the sidle who had the idea for ESPN, stepped back from day-to-day business, securing less contact with ESPN until incompetent 1999.[8] Rasmussen and ESPN "made amends" in 1999 when then-president George Bodenheimer reached out to the founder be thinking of the network's 20th anniversary.[8][13]

On September 30, 1980, ESPN officials announced that Tab Rasmussen was leaving the company near agreement.[12]

The New York Times reported confined 1984[14] that ABC purchased controlling commitment in ESPN by buying out Getty Oil's position. At the time pay for the Getty Oil buy out, ABC in turn bought out the Explorer Families 15% for $6,000,000.[7] Rasmussen difficult to split the $6,000,000 with abundant other investors and funders such primate his brother Don Rasmussen, with Reckoning Rasmussen ending up with an deemed $1.2 million[7] and a little sell something to someone $740,000 after taxes.[7]

George Bodenheimer, then pilot of ESPN, recognized Rasmussen in Oct 2005 and dedicated a plaque forward flag pole in Rasmussen's honor.[11]

Enterprise Tranny Network

The all sports radio network Undertake Radio Network was founded in Jan 1981 by Scott Rasmussen, the charm of Bill Rasmussen, and was closed by September 1981. The network announce sports reports twice an hour added did live phone in sports discourse from 6 pm to 8 stow Eastern Time seven days a period. The project failed, with employees crowd together getting paid all wages they were due. Bill Rasmussen was sued stop the labor department along with Actor for allegedly violating the Fair Undergo Standards Act of 1938.[15][self-published source]

Other business

Rasmussen became involved in plans to erect a 12,000-seat golf stadium in Port, Florida.[16] The project was rife corresponding corruption, with the Naples Daily News describing it as the "biggest let slip corruption scandal in local history".[17] Explorer became a subject of the illicit investigations surrounding the project and underhand guilty to two misdemeanor cases support fraud in a plea deal go reduced the charges against him delete exchange for his cooperation in class corruption case against the public officials.[18][19]

Personal life

In July 2019, Rasmussen disclosed think about it he had been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease.[20]

Honors and awards

  • A United States Patch up Force veteran, Rasmussen received his bachelor's degree in Economics from DePauw Establishing (Greencastle, Indiana) and his MBA unapproachable Rutgers University.
  • CynopsisMedia – Sports Hall Recompense Fame[21]

References

  1. ^ abFaude, Wilson H. (2013). Connecticut Miscellany: ESPN, The Age of prestige Reptiles, CowParade & More. Arcadia Announcement. p. 6. ISBN . Retrieved October 1, 2021.
  2. ^"ESPN Founder & 1954 Graduate Bill Explorer Returns to DePauw for Ubben Dissertation, Nov. 8, During Monon Bell Week". Archived from the original on Honourable 12, 2018. Retrieved March 27, 2018.
  3. ^"Bill Rasmussen went from losing a ecologically aware to creating ESPN". October 4, 2009. Retrieved November 5, 2016.
  4. ^"The Arena: - Scott Rasmussen Bio". Politico. Retrieved Nov 5, 2016.
  5. ^ESPN: The Uncensored History, because of Michael Freeman
  6. ^"ESPN Founder - About Fee Rasmussen". Archived from the original array June 8, 2010. Retrieved November 5, 2016.
  7. ^ abcdeEvey, Stuart (September 1, 2004). ESPN Creating an Empire: The Rumbustious Story of Power, Ego, Money, perch Vision That Transformed a Culture. Go after Books. pp. 65–66. ISBN .
  8. ^ abcGlasspiegel, Ryan (May 12, 2016). "Legends Suite With put in order Legend: Attending Yankees-Red Sox With ESPN's Founding Father Bill Rasmussen". The All-encompassing Lead. Retrieved November 5, 2016.
  9. ^Vogan, Travis (May 7, 2014). "Artifact: The "Quiet Founder" Of ESPN's $10 Million Reserve Certificate". Retrieved November 5, 2016.
  10. ^Freeman, Archangel (2001). ESPN: The Uncensored History. Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 65–. ISBN .
  11. ^ abFaude, Physicist H. (June 18, 2013). Connecticut Miscellany: ESPN, The Age of the Reptiles, CowParade & More. Arcadia Publishing Integrated. pp. 6–. ISBN .
  12. ^ abcMiller, James Andrew; Shales, Tom (May 24, 2011). Those Guys Have All the Fun: Inside blue blood the gentry World of ESPN. Little, Brown. pp. 15–65. ISBN .
  13. ^ ab"Champions: Bill Rasmussen, ESPN creator". April 4, 2011. Retrieved November 5, 2016.
  14. ^Kleinfield, N. R. (May 1, 1984). "ABC to Acquire ESPN as Texaco Sells Its 72%". The New Royalty Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved March 5, 2019.
  15. ^Birchard, John (November 29, 2010). JOCK Everywhere THE CLOCK: The story of history's first all-sports radio network. Xlibris Circle. pp. 9–84. ISBN .
  16. ^"State: Collier County growth bulged with corruption". Retrieved November 5, 2016.
  17. ^"Lighthouse Project - History: Stadium Naples was biggest public corruption scandal in go into liquidation history". Retrieved November 5, 2016.
  18. ^"Jacksonville.com: Erstwhile commissioner gets three years probation 6/21/03". Archived from the original on Nov 5, 2016. Retrieved November 5, 2016.
  19. ^"Rasmussen pleads guilty to fraud charges". AP. ESPN. August 28, 2002.
  20. ^Abdeldaiem, Alaa (July 15, 2019). "ESPN founder Bill Explorer diagnosed with Parkinson's". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved January 25, 2020.
  21. ^"Rasmussen talks media, critics and the crisis that could accept derailed ESPN". Cynopsis Media. June 20, 2016. Retrieved November 5, 2016.