ESPN Founder Bill Rasmussen Never Forgot His Enfield Roots

ENFIELD, CT — Bill Rasmussen, the former Enfield resident whose idea for a 24-hour sports network led to the creation of ESPN, died Aug. 18 at age 93 from the effects of Parkinson's disease, according to ESPN.

The following remembrance was submitted to Patch by Mike Cotnoir, who knew Rasmussen for 27 years.

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How many people can say they created something that changed the world? Bill Rasmussen did exactly that.

On Sept. 7, 1979, Bill's passion and determination brought his dream to life. He and his son Scott had come up with what sounded like a crazy idea: provide sports programming 24 hours a day. The rest is history.

We lost a true visionary on Aug. 18, but his place in broadcasting history is only part of what I will remember. I had the incredible honor of knowing Bill for 27 years and cherished the fact that he was my friend.

Family, friendship and remembering his roots were hallmarks of Bill's 93 years. He raised his children in Enfield during the 1970s and never forgot what this Northern Connecticut town meant to him. He lived around the country and traveled the world, but Enfield always brought back special memories.

Bill was elected to the Enfield Athletic Hall of Fame in 1999. He was not someone who returned to accept an award and was never seen again. In 2008, he came back for a public question-and-answer event supporting the community. He also visited Bay Path College that day to offer advice to entrepreneurial students.

In 2019, when the Enfield Athletic Hall of Fame moved to Enfield High School, Bill wanted to be part of the celebration. He spoke to residents and answered questions about the creation of ESPN.

Tim Jensen, Jon LeBlanc, my wife and I treated him to dinner at Figaro's that night before driving him to a Bristol hotel, where he had ESPN obligations the next day.

That year, I was also lucky enough to share an award stage with him. Bill received the Gold Key Award from the Connecticut Sports Writers' Alliance, while I received the organization's John Wentworth Good Sport Award. It was an amazing afternoon, especially for me. Bill spoke fondly about his roots and openly discussed both his successes and failures in business.

Later that year, he invited me to Fenway Park for ESPN's 40th anniversary celebration, where he threw out a ceremonial first pitch. Bill loved baseball, but more than anything, he was proud of what he and Scott had created in 1979.

He was a great friend to many people in our community. His phone calls, emails and visits with the late Tim Jensen, the former editor of Enfield Patch, and me always came straight from the heart. They were filled with love and compassion.

Bill loved this town.

Thank you, Bill, for the many gifts you left us. As viewers heard during ESPN's first broadcast: "What you'll see in the next minutes, hours and days to follow may convince you you've gone to sports heaven."

You deserve to rest in sports heaven, my friend.