Bill Rasmussen, who co-founded ESPN, the world's first 24-hour dedicated sports cable channel, with his son, has passed away at the age of 93.

The Associated Press reported on the 19th (Korean time) that Rasmussen died at his home in Florida due to complications from Parkinson's disease.

Born in Chicago, he served in the Air Force, founded an advertising service company, and worked in broadcasting in the 1960s, going through various occupations.

In 1974, he was hired as the communications director for the New England Whalers of the World Hockey Association (WHA), but lost his job in 1978 when the entire front office was fired.

Later, along with his son Scott, using a 9,000-dollar cash advance on a credit card as seed money, he jumped into the cable channel business broadcasting exclusively sports.

People mocked him, asking, "Who would watch a channel that only shows sports 24 hours a day?" but the game changed when the idea emerged to buy satellite broadcasts and target the nationwide audience.

The Rasmussen father and son secured investment from oil company Getty Oil, succeeded in broadcasting rights contracts, and built a studio in Bristol, Connecticut, where ESPN's headquarters remain today.

Thus, ESPN hit the airwaves for the first time on September 7, 1979, and has now become the world's largest sports media group.

During his lifetime, Rasmussen recalled, "When someone tells you that you can't do it, it makes you want to prove them wrong," adding, "Many people said there wasn't enough sports to fill a 24-hour channel, but I thought they were wrong."

However, the Rasmussen father and son did not stay long.

They were ousted in 1980, just a year after the launch, by Getty Oil, the majority shareholder holding an 85 percent stake.

Later, Rasmussen restored his relationship when he was invited to ESPN's 20th-anniversary celebration in 1999, and for the 40th anniversary in 2019, he toured the country giving lectures and was inducted into the Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame.

ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro mourned him, saying, "Bill Rasmussen was an innovator who envisioned a network dedicated solely to sports," and added, "Without his passion and entrepreneurial spirit in the late 1970s, we would not be where we are today."

Veteran ESPN anchor Chris Berman said, "Bill Rasmussen was our George Washington."

(Photo: AP, Yonhap News)