Background
Flemming, Bill was born on September 3, 1926 in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Son of Norman Albert and Elizabeth (Morrisson) Flemming.
Flemming, Bill was born on September 3, 1926 in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Son of Norman Albert and Elizabeth (Morrisson) Flemming.
Bachelor, University Michigan, 1949.
Born in Chicago, Illinois, Flemming moved with his family to Ann Arbor, Michigan by the time he entered high school. College life
Attending the University of Michigan 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.
Broadcasting career
After graduating from Michigan, he went to work for WWJ-television in Detroit in 1953 and later appeared on National Broadcasting Company"s Today Show before joining American Broadcasting Company"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 American Broadcasting Company, 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 American Broadcasting Company 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 National Broadcasting Company, Flemming also called the United States Open golf tournament in 1957. Flemming was the first voice of the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I Men"s Basketball Championship on television On June 20, 2008, Flemming was elected posthumously to the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame.
Personal life
Flemming married the former Barbara Forster.
Their marriage produced two children, and they had two grandchildren. Living in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, 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. Death
Flemming died of prostate cancer on July 20, 2007 in Petoskey, Michigan.
A memorial service was held on August 10 in Harbor Springs.
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 He was a member of Delta Tau Delta International Fraternity.
Flemming was a Past President of the Detroit Sports Broadcasters Association and was named a Lifetime Honorary Member of the DSBA.
Married Barbara Alice Forster, August 5, 1950. Children: Lindy, William Mason.