Former Seton Hall Basketball Coach, Bill Raftery, To Be Honored By Basketball Hall of Fame
9/6/2006 12:00:00 AM | General
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. - Bill Raftery, the charismatic and insightful television analyst for CBS and ESPN since the early 80’s, and Los Angeles Times writer
Named in honor of the late legendary sports broadcaster and former Basketball Hall of Fame President Curt Gowdy, the prestigious awards are given annually to one member of the print and one member of the electronic media whose efforts have made a significant contribution to the game of basketball. Two Gowdy Media Award winners have gone on to be elected as members of the Basketball Hall of Fame, including Class of 2005 member Hubie Brown and the late Chick Hearn (Class of 2003).
“The Gowdy Award presentation is certainly one of the highlights of Enshrinement Weekend, and both Mr. Raftery and Mr. Heisler exemplify the true spirit of the award”, said John L. Doleva, Hall of Fame President & CEO. “These two men have dedicated much of their professional careers to telling the story of basketball for millions of readers, listeners and viewers, and the Hall of Fame is proud to honor their efforts.”
2006 Electronic award winner Bill Raftery launched his media career in 1980 when he
co-hosted ESPN’s “NCAA Tonight”, but his passion for basketball began long before his inaugural broadcast.
Raftery discovered his love for the game in Kearny, NJ, where he was an all-state high school player in basketball (and baseball and soccer), before taking his hoop skills to LaSalle University, where he played for three years and captained the team prior to graduating in 1963.
Raftery was drafted by the Knicks and had the good fortune after his release to be named as head coach at Fairleigh Dickinson
At Seton Hall, Raftery led the Pirates to a 154-141 record over 11 seasons and currently ranks fifth on the all-time wins list at the school. Raftery led SHU into the BIG EAST Conference, coaching the team its first two seasons in the league. He guided the school to two NIT berths and posted consecutive 18-win seasons in 1975-76 and 1976-77.
Despite his playing and coaching success, Raftery is often best known for his broadcasting abilities, using his knowledge and passion for the game to provide unique insight for the viewer while entertaining them with such trademark phrases as “Send It In!”, "With The Kiss” and “Man-To-Man!”
Raftery began his game analyst duties in 1982 by calling the New Jersey Nets games for SportsChannel
Raftery resides in his home state of
Previous Curt Gowdy Media Award Winners
Year Print Electronic
1990 Dick Herbert Curt Gowdy
1991 Dave Dorr Marty Glickman
1992 Sam Goldaper Chick Hearn
1993 Leonard Lewin Johnny Most
1994 Leonard Koppett Cawood Ledford
1995 Bob Hammel Dick Enberg
1996 Bob Hentzen Billy Packer
1997
1998 Larry Donald Dick Vitale
Dick Weiss
1999 Smith Barrier Bob Costas
2000 Dave Kindred Hubie Brown
2001 Curry Kirkpatrick Dick Stockton
2002 Jim O’Connell Jim Nantz
2003 Sid Hartman Hot Rod Hundley
2004
2005 Jack McCallum Bill Campbell
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