Bill Mazer

Bill Mazer (November 2, 1920 – October 23, 2013) was an American sportscaster. He was the host of the first sports talk radio show in history. It started in March of 1964 on WNBC (AM).^[1]

Bill Morris Mazer
Born	November 2, 1920 Izyaslav, Ukraine
Died	October 23, 2013(2013-10-23) (aged 92) Danbury, Connecticut, U.S.
Nationality	American
Alma mater	University of Michigan
Occupation	Broadcaster
Known for	Sports Extra, Amazin' Mazer
Spouse	Dora "Dutch" Mazer
Children	2 daughters, 1 son

Bill Mazer was a color commentator and a studio host for the NHL. He did play-by-play for the NFL on CBS as well as the American Basketball Association. Mazer was also one of the voices of the Milwaukee Braves of Major League Baseball. He called golf tournaments for CBS and NBC. Then he was a sports anchor for WNEW-TV for almost twenty years. He was a host for Sports Extra teaming up with Lee Leonard.

He filled in for Hugh Downs on the game show Concentration. Then he was given his own show, Reach for the Stars. However, the show was quickly canceled. During the 1960s and 1970s, Mazer did much voice-over commercial work, from L&M Cigarettes, Kodak, Ford automobiles to Trident chewing gum, among many others.

Mazer won three National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association's Sportscaster of the Year awards for New York from 1964–66.^[2] Mazer was inducted into the hall of fame for both the Buffalo Broadcasters Association (1999) and the National Jewish Sports Hall of Fame and Museum (1997).

Mazer died on October 23, 2013 from unknown causes at a hospital in Danbury, Connecticut, aged 92.^[3]

References

1. Best, Neil (June 16, 2011). "First time, long time for Bill Mazer". Newsday. Retrieved 2012-08-01.
2. "New York Sportscaster Awards". National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association. Archived from the original on September 17, 2012. Retrieved 2012-08-01.
3. "Bill Mazer, a sports fixture of New York radio and TV, dies at 92". New York Times.com. October 23, 2013. Retrieved October 24, 2013.