LAND O鈥� LAKES, Fla. (AP) 鈥� Bill Rasmussen, who co-founded ESPN in 1979 after being fired from a public relations job in the World Hockey Association, died Tuesday. He was 93.
ESPN historian Mike Soltys said Rasmussen died at his Florida home from the effects of Parkinson鈥檚 disease. Rasmussen announced in 2019 that he had been diagnosed with the degenerative disease in 2014.
鈥淏ill was a remarkable man 鈥� a visionary and an innovator who conceived the idea of a network entirely devoted to sports,鈥� ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro said in a statement. 鈥淨uite simply, none of us would be here today if it wasn鈥檛 for Bill鈥檚 passion and all the hard work and entrepreneurial spirit he put into building ESPN in the late 1970s 鈥� key aspects of our company culture that still carry on to this day.鈥�
Rasmussen and his son Scott came up with the idea of a network carrying sports around the clock, and it would revolutionize Americans鈥� TV-watching habits. But the pair didn鈥檛 stick around long. They were forced out after only a year by ESPN majority owner Getty Oil.
Bill Rasmussen鈥檚 original idea was a cable channel covering only Connecticut sports. Many cable operators in the state were skeptical, but someone suggested buying satellite time to reach a national audience.
ESPN was launched on Sept. 7, 1979. George Grande welcomed viewers to the first 鈥淪portsCenter鈥� broadcast before the network鈥檚 first live event, a slow-pitch softball game between the Kentucky Bourbons and the Milwaukee Schlitz.
鈥淚n those days, we didn鈥檛 know if we鈥檇 last four weeks, four years, let alone 40-some, but we knew it was special,鈥� Grande said. 鈥淏ottom line was Bill Rasmussen was the true purveyor of the original American dream, and he gave us all something very special that we still have today.鈥�
The Rasmussens secured financial backing from Getty Oil and a rights deal with the NCAA, and built a studio in Bristol, Connecticut, still under construction when ESPN went on the air.
The Getty investment and the deal with the NCAA occurred on the same day.
鈥淲hen someone tells you you can鈥檛 do something, you want to prove them wrong,鈥� Bill Rasmussen said. 鈥淢any, many people told us there wasn鈥檛 enough sports to do a 24-hour channel. I didn鈥檛 argue with anybody. I just thought they were wrong and I was right.鈥�
When the Rasmussens were forced out of ESPN in 1980, Getty owned 85% of the network. Texaco, which had acquired Getty, sold its interest in ESPN to ABC in 1984.
Bill Rasmussen and ESPN were estranged until 1999, when company executives invited him to the 20th anniversary celebration. Since then, he has been embraced and recognized for his vision of creating an all-sports network. He toured the country in 2019 for the 40th anniversary and gave speeches at Walt Disney Co. and ESPN events.
鈥淏ill was our George Washington and a good friend,鈥� said veteran anchor Chris Berman, who joined ESPN three weeks after the network launched in 1979. 鈥淗e was such a grateful person and every sports fan can be grateful for Bill. He wasn鈥檛 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鈥檚 legacy.鈥�
Born in Chicago, Rasmussen earned degrees from DePauw University in Indiana and Rutgers University and served in the Air Force. He started an advertising services business, then worked in radio and television as a broadcaster during the 1960s.
He was hired in 1974 as public relations director for the WHA鈥檚 New England Whalers in Hartford, Connecticut. The team鈥檚 entire front office was fired in 1978, and Rasmussen soon turned his attention to brainstorming with his son on the creation of sports on cable TV with the help of a $9,000 credit card advance.
鈥淭here was a whole lot of chutzpah and a whole lot of vision, and they鈥檙e maxed out on their credit cards. It鈥檚 the American dream,鈥� said Bob Ley, one of the network鈥檚 original anchors.
Rasmussen was inducted into the Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame in 2025.
Rasmussen was predeceased by his wife of 56 years, Lois, in 2011 and is survived by two sons, Scott Rasmussen and his wife, Laura, and Glenn Rasmussen, daughter Lynn Van Hollebeke and her husband, Louie, seven grandchildren, one great-grandson and one great-granddaughter. In addition to his wife, Bill was predeceased by his brothers Robert and Donald Rasmussen, sister Vivien and a grandson.
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