Bill Campbell

From Philadelphia Eagles website.

Legendary Philadelphia radio and television broadcaster Bill Campbell passed away on Monday evening at the age of 91, and he is remembered forever by Eagles fans for his dramatic radio call of the team’s 1960 NFL Championship win over the Green Bay Packers.

“The game’s over! The game’s over! The Eagles are the champions of the world! LISTEN!” Campbell exclaimed as linebacker Chuck Bednarik sat on Packers running back Jimmy Taylor while the seconds drained off the clock at Franklin Field.

Campbell was the play-by-play voice of the Eagles from 1956-64, according to his book, “Bill Campbell, The Voice of Philadelphia Sports,” and his wonderful, warm style and descriptive narrative left a lasting impression on everyone who listened.

“Bill Campbell is truly a legend as his knowledge and passion for sports in this city filled the airwaves for decades,” said president Don Smolenski. “Being the voice of the Phillies, 76ers, and Eagles throughout his career, it was clear that Philadelphia sports were in his blood. His call of the 1960 NFL Championship and of Wilt Chamberlain’s historic 100-point game will never be forgotten. On behalf of the Philadelphia Eagles and our legion of fans, we send our condolences to the Campbell family on their loss.”

“He was the greatest in the history of Philadelphia broadcasting,” said Merrill Reese, who has been the radio play-by-play voice of the Eagles since 1977. “He did every sport in Philadelphia – the Warriors and the Sixers in basketball, the Phillies, the Eagles of course, college basketball, the Penn Relays, hosted talk shows – and he was great. The Dean. He was also the single greatest interviewer I ever heard.

“He was an inspiration to me as I listened to him broadcast Eagles games. He painted a wonderful picture with a direct, accurate style. He described the action in a beautiful, articulate style. He was the standard for play-by-play broadcasters, even in today’s market.

“There is no question that he helped ignite my passion for the Eagles and helped create a path for my road to what I’ve loved doing for so many years.”

In the book “Bill Campbell, The Voice of Philadelphia Sports,” Campbell describes how he and Eagles quarterback Norm Van Brocklin listened to Campbell’s play-by-play calls of Eagles games during Van Brocklin’s first season with the team in 1958. Van Brocklin was a harsh critic of Campbell, and along the way taught the young broadcaster more about the game than he could ever imagine.

“Every week, I used to hear, ‘You have to be the worst football announcer of all time,’” Campbell said in the book. “Every week! I learned more from Dutch than anybody. And when I was doing a game, I almost got to the point where I knew what he was going to call because of the way the defenses presented themselves. I spent so much time with him and some of it rubbed off.”

The greatness certainly did.

“Ladies and gentlemen, the Green Bay Packers and the Philadelphia Eagles are about to play the biggest game of their lives,” Campbell said during his WCAU-AM broadcast of that 1960 NFL Championship Game. “And there will be bedlam coming out of your loudspeakers for the next several hours. We hope you’ll enjoy the play. We hope we can make it enjoyable for you. Here is (Paul) Hornung booting off, a deep one … and the championship of the world is underway.”

The Eagles weren’t very good during Campbell’s time as the voice of the team – they were just 47-64-5 – but those who listened were captivated by Campbell’s broadcasting style.

“It didn’t matter, because Bill was so great at his craft. He was honest, sincere and direct,” said Reese. “He was simply the best I’ve ever heard.”