ESPN founder Bill Rasmussen dead at 93 after Parkinson’s disease battle as tributes to TV pioneer pour in

THE FOUNDER of ESPN died at the age of 93. ESPN announced that Bill Rasmussen died from the effects of Parkinson’s disease. ESPN founder Bill Rasmussen has died Credit: Getty Rasmussen, far right, poses with Robin Roberts, middle, at ESPN’s 35th anniversary gala in 2014 Credit: Getty Rasmussen died on Tuesday at his Florida home. Along with his son, Scott, Rasmussen started the 1979 launch of ESPN – the world’s first 24-hour television network. Sign up for the Sport newsletter Thank you! The vision was considered innovative, but also came with plenty of doubt. But ESPN would become a major fixture in the media landscape just a few years later. ESPN is now a powerhouse and known as The Worldwide Leader in Sports, and wouldn’t exist without Rasmussen, who left the company in 1980. He would reconnect with the network in 1999 before the network’s 20th anniversary. “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 in a statement. “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.” Most read in Sport A native of Illinois, Rasmussen served in the Air Force before beginning a sports broadcasting career in Massachusetts in the 1960s. He also worked as an advertising and public relations executive. Last year, Rasmussen was inducted into the Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame. “Bill was our George Washington and a good friend,” said legendary anchor Chris Berman, who joined ESPN three weeks after the network launch in 1979. “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.” Comment now