Bill Mercer
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Bill Mercer is an American sportscaster, originally from Muskogee, Oklahoma, who now lives in Richardson, Texas. In 2002, he was inducted into the Texas Radio Hall of Fame.[citation needed]
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[edit] Career
[edit] Dallas-Forth Worth regional sports teams
His career spans over 60 years and has included broadcasting stints with the Dallas Cowboys, the Texas Rangers, North Texas State University (now known as the University of North Texas) football and basketball and many other Dallas–Fort Worth regional teams.
He is also famous for calling the famous "Ice Bowl"', the NFL championship game between the Dallas Cowboys and Green Bay Packers in 1967, along with the Cowboys' first two Super Bowl appearances (also for the NFL championship).
During his time at UNT, he called games involving Kevin Adkisson and Steve Williams, who both became professional wrestlers under the names Kevin Von Erich and Stone Cold Steve Austin respectively.
Mercer has spent over 50 years teaching new generations of sports broadcasters at the University of North Texas.
[edit] World Class Championship Wrestling
Perhaps he is most famously known for his work in the 1980s as the host and play-by-play announcer for World Class Championship Wrestling (WCCW), based in Dallas. Mercer also worked as a wrestling announcer in the 1950s and 1960s both at the Dallas Sportatorium and during in-studio wrestling events at KRLD-TV (present day KDFW-TV) Channel 4.
During his time with World Class, he, Mickey Grant and Gary Hart became prominent figures in the success of the organization, which at the suggestion of Mercer and Grant, changed to the World Class name after 15 years as Big Time Wrestling. Mercer was the associate producer of the synidcated World Class broadcasts until 1987. While in World Class, he struck a very close friendship with Chris Adams, whose popularity equaled that of the Von Erichs, and both worked on various projects until Adams' sudden death in 2001. Mercer once stated that he felt Adams would become as big as anyone in pro wrestling. Sadly, Adams' true potential and dreams of becoming NWA World heavyweight champion was never fulfilled.
[edit] When the News Went Live
Mercer was one of many news reporters who covered the John F. Kennedy assassination in 1963, which prompted him and others to write a book, When the News Went Live, about their experiences during that time.
