Bill MacPhail

William Curtis MacPhail (March 25, 1920 – September 4, 1996) was an American television sports executive.

Early life and family MacPhail was born in Columbus, Ohio, son of Larry MacPhail, a baseball executive and innovator. He was a graduate of Swarthmore College and served in the United States Navy. His brother was longtime baseball executive Lee MacPhail, and Larry and Lee MacPhail are both members of the National Baseball Hall of Fame. in 1946 and then worked for eight years for three minor league teams before becoming director of publicity for the Kansas City Athletics in 1955. CBS hired him the following year. for the first time in sports — during the Army–Navy Game of 1963.

MacPhail is known for hiring famous broadcasting talent. He introduced a number of sportscasters nationally, including Chris Schenkel, Jim McKay, Dan Patrick, Phil Griffin and Keith Olbermann. He hired former New York Giants kicker Pat Summerall as a sportscaster at CBS. At CNN, MacPhail hired sports anchors Nick Charles, Bob Kurtz, Fred Hickman, Jim Huber, Dan Patrick, Keith Olbermann, Hannah Storm, Dan Hicks, and Daryn Kagan, among others.

Awards In 1989, MacPhail was the first recipient of Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Pete Rozelle Radio-Television Award. The annual award recognizes "long-time exceptional contributions to radio and television in professional football."