R.I.P. Broadcast Bill

Written by Jeff Fox | 02 November 2009

The basketball world lost a great one today.  Maybe I'm being a bit dramatic, since Bill Walton didn't die, but Broadcast Bill Walton did die today.  The Big Redhead announced his retirement from broadcasting, after a life-threatening back injury kept his voice off the air for the past couple of years.  He now plans to "dedicate the rest of his life to service".  A classic Walton pronouncement if there ever was one. 

He was the most unlikliest "media member" as there ever was.  A counterculture figure in the 1960s and 70s, with a long ponytail, a disdain for the media and a bad stutter, the thought of Bill Walton as a broadcaster back in those days would have been unfathomable.  But he proved to be more than adequate at it, showing off a love and understanding of the sport rivalling anyone's.  Walton was at his best while working with sparring partner Steve "Snapper" Jones, where the two would have a verbal tête-à-tête over the course of the telecast.

I'm probably in the minority stating that I am going to miss Walton.  The reason I loved Bill Walton so much as an announcer was his uniqueness.  This shouldn't be surprising, considering he was (is?) a vegetarian, wrote a book on cycling, is a devout Deadhead and used to rock a poner.  The guy was cut from a different cloth than most of his peers.  This led to him not being afraid to voice his opinion, as ridiculous as it could be at times.  And the disdain and anger (especially from Snapper) that he stirred up in his broadcast partners was great entertainment.  Sure he was prone to hyperbole, but I always got the sense that most of it was done tongue in cheek (if not then I guess I was laughing at him, not with him).  But what was most enjoyable about listening to Walton commentate a game, other than the obscure language he used to describe the proceedings, was that his immense love for the sport (and for Elgin Baylor) was always apparent.  Even though injuries cut his playing career (and now broadcasting career) short, Walton never stopped loving the game and wanted to share his love and knowledge of the sport to the rest of us.  Your voice will be missed (at least by me), William Theodore Walton III.