Bill Flemming
Encyclopedia
William Norman "Bill" Flemming (September 3, 1926 – July 20, 2007) was an American
television
sport
s journalist
who was one of the original announcers for the ABC Sports show Wide World of Sports.
by the time he entered high school. While at Ann Arbor High School, he was a member of their state championship football
team in 1943. Flemming was also a member of the high school basketball
team.
in Ann Arbor, he entered as a Pre-medical
major, but switched to speech
after winning a campus wide speech contest which earned him a summer job at WUOM, the campus radio
station. Flemming would work his way up to sports director of the radio station.
in Detroit
in 1953 and later appeared on NBC's Today Show before joining ABC's Wide World of Sports in 1961. He was the original voice of the Detroit Pistons
, calling their radio broadcasts from 1957 (their first season in Detroit) to 1962. While with ABC, Flemming covered over 600 events for the program, including college football
, golf
and cliff diving. One of the assignments he cherished broadcasting was the Michigan-Ohio State football game
since Flemming was a Michigan graduate. Other sports that Flemming called on Wide World of Sports were bobsledding, chess
, auto racing
and the Olympic Games
. His first event called on ABC was the Drake Relays
track and field
event in Des Moines, Iowa
while his fellow broadcaster Jim McKay
called the Penn Relays
athletic event in Philadelphia. While at NBC, Flemming also called the US Open golf tournament
in 1957. It was Flemming's reputation for tact and persistence that made him the go-to man in interviewing the reclusive Bobby Fischer
during the 1972 World Chess Championships in Reykjavík
, Iceland
when Fischer was competing against defending champion Boris Spassky
of the then-Soviet Union
.
Flemming was a Past President of the Detroit Sports Broadcasters Association and was named a Lifetime Honorary Member of the DSBA. On June 20, 2008, Flemming was elected posthumously to the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame
.
, Flemming was a pilot with over 6,000 hours logged. From 1998 until his 2007 death, Flemming split his time between his homes in Good Hart, Michigan and Marco Island, Florida
.
on July 20, 2007 in Petoskey, Michigan
. A memorial service was held on August 10 in Harbor Springs
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
sport
Sport
A Sport is all forms of physical activity which, through casual or organised participation, aim to use, maintain or improve physical fitness and provide entertainment to participants. Sport may be competitive, where a winner or winners can be identified by objective means, and may require a degree...
s journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
who was one of the original announcers for the ABC Sports show Wide World of Sports.
Early life
Born in Chicago, Illinois, Flemming moved with his family to Ann Arbor, MichiganAnn Arbor, Michigan
Ann Arbor is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Washtenaw County. The 2010 census places the population at 113,934, making it the sixth largest city in Michigan. The Ann Arbor Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 344,791 as of 2010...
by the time he entered high school. While at Ann Arbor High School, he was a member of their state championship football
High school football
High school football, in North America, refers to the game of football as it is played in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both of these nations....
team in 1943. Flemming was also a member of the high school basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
team.
College life
Attending the University of MichiganUniversity of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
in Ann Arbor, he entered as a Pre-medical
Pre-medical
Pre-medical is a term used to describe a track an undergraduate student in the United States pursues prior to becoming a medical student...
major, but switched to speech
Public speaking
Public speaking is the process of speaking to a group of people in a structured, deliberate manner intended to inform, influence, or entertain the listeners...
after winning a campus wide speech contest which earned him a summer job at WUOM, the campus radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
station. Flemming would work his way up to sports director of the radio station.
Broadcasting career
After graduating from Michigan, he went to work for WWJ-TVWDIV-TV
WDIV-TV, virtual channel 4, is an NBC-affiliated television station based in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is owned by Post-Newsweek Stations and is the flagship station and home base of the group with the offices of the group located alongside WDIV's studios; the "Local" branding now...
in Detroit
Detroit, Michigan
Detroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...
in 1953 and later appeared on NBC's Today Show before joining ABC's Wide World of Sports in 1961. He was the original voice of the Detroit Pistons
Detroit Pistons
The Detroit Pistons are a franchise of the National Basketball Association based in Auburn Hills, Michigan. The team's home arena is The Palace of Auburn Hills. It was originally founded in Fort Wayne, Indiana as the Fort Wayne Pistons as a member of the National Basketball League in 1941, where...
, calling their radio broadcasts from 1957 (their first season in Detroit) to 1962. While with ABC, Flemming covered over 600 events for the program, including college football
College Football on ABC
ESPN College Football on ABC presented by Kay Jewelers is a presentation of the American Broadcasting Company's regular season American college football television package...
, golf
PGA Tour on ABC
PGA Tour on ABC was a television program that broadcast the main professional golf tours on the American Broadcasting Company television network. ABC initially broadcast the PGA Tour through 1978 and then from 1999–2006. From 1966 through 2009, ABC was the broadcast home of the British...
and cliff diving. One of the assignments he cherished broadcasting was the Michigan-Ohio State football game
Michigan-Ohio State rivalry
The Michigan–Ohio State football rivalry, also known as The Game, is an American college football rivalry game played annually by the Wolverines of the University of Michigan and the Buckeyes of The Ohio State University...
since Flemming was a Michigan graduate. Other sports that Flemming called on Wide World of Sports were bobsledding, chess
Chess
Chess is a two-player board game played on a chessboard, a square-checkered board with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. It is one of the world's most popular games, played by millions of people worldwide at home, in clubs, online, by correspondence, and in tournaments.Each player...
, auto racing
Auto racing
Auto racing is a motorsport involving the racing of cars for competition. It is one of the world's most watched televised sports.-The beginning of racing:...
and the Olympic Games
Olympic Games
The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...
. His first event called on ABC was the Drake Relays
Drake Relays
The Drake Relays is an annual outdoor track and field event held in Des Moines, Iowa, United States, in Drake Stadium on the campus of Drake University...
track and field
Track and field
Track and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...
event in Des Moines, Iowa
Des Moines, Iowa
Des Moines is the capital and the most populous city in the US state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small portion of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines which was shortened to "Des Moines" in 1857...
while his fellow broadcaster Jim McKay
Jim McKay
James Kenneth McManus , better known by his professional name of Jim McKay, was an American television sports journalist....
called the Penn Relays
Penn Relays
The Penn Relays is the oldest and largest track and field competition in the United States, hosted annually since April 21, 1895 by the University of Pennsylvania at Franklin Field in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania...
athletic event in Philadelphia. While at NBC, Flemming also called the US Open golf tournament
U.S. Open (golf)
The United States Open Championship, commonly known as the U.S. Open, is the annual open golf tournament of the United States. It is the second of the four major championships in golf, and is on the official schedule of both the PGA Tour and the European Tour...
in 1957. It was Flemming's reputation for tact and persistence that made him the go-to man in interviewing the reclusive Bobby Fischer
Bobby Fischer
Robert James "Bobby" Fischer was an American chess Grandmaster and the 11th World Chess Champion. He is widely considered one of the greatest chess players of all time. Fischer was also a best-selling chess author...
during the 1972 World Chess Championships in Reykjavík
Reykjavík
Reykjavík is the capital and largest city in Iceland.Its latitude at 64°08' N makes it the world's northernmost capital of a sovereign state. It is located in southwestern Iceland, on the southern shore of Faxaflói Bay...
, Iceland
Iceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
when Fischer was competing against defending champion Boris Spassky
Boris Spassky
Boris Vasilievich Spassky is a Soviet-French chess grandmaster. He was the tenth World Chess Champion, holding the title from late 1969 to 1972...
of the then-Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
.
Flemming was a Past President of the Detroit Sports Broadcasters Association and was named a Lifetime Honorary Member of the DSBA. On June 20, 2008, Flemming was elected posthumously to the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame
Michigan Sports Hall of Fame
The Michigan Sports Hall of Fame is a Hall of Fame to honor Michigan sports people. It was organized in 1954 by Michigan Lieutenant Governor Philip Hart, Michigan State University athletic director Biggie Munn, president of the Greater Michigan Foundation Donald Weeks, general manager of the...
.
Personal life
Flemming married the former Barbara Forster. Their marriage produced two children, and they had two grandchildren. Living in Bloomfield Hills, MichiganBloomfield Hills, Michigan
Bloomfield Hills is a city in Oakland County of the U.S. state of Michigan, northwest of downtown Detroit. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 3,869...
, Flemming was a pilot with over 6,000 hours logged. From 1998 until his 2007 death, Flemming split his time between his homes in Good Hart, Michigan and Marco Island, Florida
Marco Island, Florida
Marco Island is a city in Collier County, Florida, United States, located on an island by the same name in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Southwest Florida. It is a principal city of the Naples–Marco Island Metropolitan Statistical Area...
.
Death
Flemming died of prostate cancerProstate cancer
Prostate cancer is a form of cancer that develops in the prostate, a gland in the male reproductive system. Most prostate cancers are slow growing; however, there are cases of aggressive prostate cancers. The cancer cells may metastasize from the prostate to other parts of the body, particularly...
on July 20, 2007 in Petoskey, Michigan
Petoskey, Michigan
Petoskey is a city and coastal resort community in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 6,080. It is the county seat of Emmet County....
. A memorial service was held on August 10 in Harbor Springs
Harbor Springs, Michigan
Harbor Springs is a city and resort community in Emmet County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 1,567 at the 2000 census.Harbor Springs is in a sheltered bay on the north shore of the Little Traverse Bay on Lake Michigan. The Little Traverse Lighthouse is a historic lighthouse on...
.