University of Delaware Athletics
Longtime Radio Voice of the Blue Hens Bill Pheiffer Passes Away
3/4/2015 12:20:00 PM | Football, Men's Basketball, Women's Basketball
NEWARK, Del. -- Bill Pheiffer, the longtime voice of University of Delaware football and basketball radio broadcasts on WDEL, passed away Saturday morning at the age of 90 in Wilmington, Del.
A native of Easton, Pa. and a graduate of Lafayette College, Pheiffer began his radio and TV career in 1949, and worked at WDEL in Wilmington, Del. more than 30 years, as both news and sports director. He worked with the late Bob Kelley broadcasting University of Delaware football and basketball games in the 1960's and 1980's.
When Kelley died in 1987, Pheiffer became the voice of the Blue Hens, doing play-by-play for several years before doing color for the last five years until 1999. Pheiffer retired from WDEL in 1989 but continued doing Blue Hen football, men's basketball, and women's basketball for 10 years after his retirement with radio partner Don Voltz.
Pheiffer was honored with the Herm Reitzes Award for outstanding contributions to sports in the state by the Delaware Sportswriters and Broadcasters Association and was also inducted into the Delaware Sports Hall of Fame in 2003. Pheiffer also received the Bill Knight Media Award for football coverage by the Yankee Football Conference. He was a seven-time winner of the National Sports Writers and Broadcasters Award for Delaware.
In addition to his work at WDEL, Pheiffer did TV play-by-play for the Philadelphia Warriors, Big 5 basketball, and the Wilmington Blue Bombers, as well as calling horse races at Brandywine Raceway and Delaware Park. He broadcast more than 1,000 professional, collegiate, and high school games during his career at more than 200 sites in 32 states.
He was a Navy veteran of World War II and served in the Pacific as a torpedo bomber. He was predeceased by his wife, Evelyn, and is survived by five children and numerous grandchildren.
A viewing will be held on Thursday, March 5 from 5-7 p.m. at the Doherty Funeral Home, 3200 Limestone Rd., Pike Creek. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Friday, March 6 at 10 a.m. at St. John the Beloved Parish, 907 Milltown Rd.
FOR MORE INFORMATION: Contact Scott Selheimer | selheime@udel.edu | Office: 302-831-8007 | Cell: 302-562-5129
Thank you to WDEL Radio for providing information for this article
