R.I.P.: Philly Radio/TV Icon Bill Campbell

Bill Campbell

Bill Campbell, a radio/TV broadcaster who covered some of the greatest moments in Philadelphia sports history, died Monday at Cooper University Hospital in Camden.

He was 91, according to philly.com.  His career touched parts of nine decades.

Campbell was a broadcaster for the Philadelphia Warriors/76ers, Phillies, and Eagles. Among his most famous broadcasts: the Eagles' NFL championship win over Green Bay in 1960 at Franklin Field and Wilt Chamberlain's 100-point game for the Warriors - still an NBA record - in 1962.

Longtime broadcaster Tom Lamaine said Mr. Campbell was a perfectionist, and he remembered him fondly. They broadcast 76ers TV games from 1970 to 1976, a time when Mr. Campbell was battling Crohn's disease.

Lamaine recalled a late-season game in 1973 against Cleveland - a season in which the 76ers went 9-73. "Bill was broadcasting that game like it was Game 7 of the Finals," Lamaine said. "During a commercial break, I said, 'Bill, I can't believe the energy and pace you are giving this game.' And he says to me, 'If you lose the passion, get out of the game' - and that line stuck with me forever."

Mr. Campbell, who began his broadcast career in 1939, was sports director at Channel 10 and WCAU-AM, and he was featured on numerous radio stations, including WIP-AM and KYW-AM. He was in the industry so long that he once did a radio show with Connie Mack, then the Philadelphia Athletics manager.