Bill Stern 07.01.1907 - 11.19.1971 (64 years old)

Character doesn't begin to describe Bill Stern. He was mostly sportscaster with a liberal amount of storyteller thrown in for good measure. Starting his career at 18 announcing local high school football games for his hometown radio station, WHAM in Rochester, NY, Stern also worked in theater and vaudeville as an actor, director, and manager.

Most of his early career was providing play-by-play and sticking to the facts with the occasional mistake. In 1937 NBC hired him to anchor The Colgate Sports Newsreel as well as announce boxing. However, it was the 15 minute Newsreel show where Stern earned his reputation for provocative storytelling. By his own admission, Stern did not try to confirm the stories he related but later in his tenure he did admit that the stories "might be actual, may be mythical, but definitely interesting". Click here to read more about Bill Stern