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Bill O'Donnell | |
|---|---|
| Born | William T. O'Donnell Jr. (1926-06-04)June 4, 1926 Manhattan,New York City, U.S. |
| Died | October 29, 1982(1982-10-29) (aged 56) |
| Sports commentary career | |
| Team | Baltimore Orioles (1966–82) |
| Genre | Play-by-play |
| Sport | Major League Baseball |
William T. O'Donnell Jr. (June 4, 1926 – October 29, 1982) was an Americansportscaster.
Born inManhattan and raised inThe Bronx, O'Donnell attendedFordham Preparatory School andFordham University.[1][2] After serving in theMarines during World War II, he completed his education atMohawk Valley Community College, then began his sportscasting career inSyracuse, callingSyracuse Chiefs minor-league baseball andSyracuse University football and basketball. He also worked as the nightly sportscaster forWSYR for many years. He was married to Mary Patricia O’Donnell and had five children: Kevin O’Donnell(sp:Jean, Erin(Velez), Kerrie), Kathleen Walther(sp:Joe, Caitlin), Colleen Flury(sp:Stevan, Michael, Shannon(Neidhardt)), Maureen Kane(sp:Tom, Ethan, Jimmy) and Eileen O’Donnell.
TheBaltimore Orioles hired O'Donnell in 1966, and he paired withChuck Thompson to call their games onWJZ-TV (1966–1977),WBAL-AM (1966–1978), andWFBR-AM with fellow broadcasterTom Marr from 1979 until health reasons forced him to step down early in the 1982 season. O'Donnell also contributed to national coverage of the team's appearances in the1969 World Series onNBC Television and the1971 World Series onNBC Radio.
In addition to the Orioles, O'Donnell calledBaltimore Colts radio from 1966 to 1968, as well ascollege football forABC, regionalMLB andNFL games forNBC, and college basketball forTVS Television Network.
O'Donnell died at age 56 ofcancer atJohns Hopkins Hospital on October 29, 1982.[3] He was posthumously given the Herb Armstrong Award by theBaltimore Orioles Hall of Fame in 2007.