Two years into his young broadcasting career, former college basketball player Billy Packer became the voice of the March Madness and the Final Four in 1974 for CBS. Packer's voice became synonymous with the NCAA's crown jewel for the next 35 years.

107.7 WGNA logo
Get our free mobile app

On Thursday, Billy Packer's two sons made the announcement of their 82 year-old father's death on twitter.

ESPN.com's Jeff Borzello reflected on some of Packer's historic Final Four games. In 1979, Billy Packer, Dick Enberg and Al McGuire brought the country a battle of future NBA legends battling for college basketball's National Championship.

Getty Images
Getty Images
loading...

Michigan State, featuring Magic Johnson, knocked off Indiana State with a guy named Larry Bird 75-64 for the national title. It was a preview of many NBA battles between the two legends to come. That legendary broadcast remains the highest-rated game in basketball history with a 21.1 Nielsen rating, which is an estimated 35.1 million viewers. 30 years after that night, Billy Packer decided to call his last game in 2008.

Getty Images
Getty Images
loading...

In 2019, Packer talked about walking away from college sports' premier event with The Athletic, "There's a point where you say, OK, I've enjoyed my run, and now it's time to go back and do the other things I enjoy. The last game I've seen in person was the last game I broadcast. That was the (2008) national championship game between Memphis and Kansas." I was fortunate to meet Billy Packer a few times at various events throughout my career. He was always very kind. Billy Packer brought a lot of great insight to college basketball fans over the years and we will always be thankful. Rest in peace.

Ten Most Romantic Restaurants in the Capital Region

Based on Yelp reviews, social media posts and YOU, these are the 10 Most Romantic Restaurants in the Capital Region for Valentine's Day 2023!

The 5 Smartest New York Cities Named Among Most Intelligent In US

One thing you can count on pretty much anywhere in the state of New York is the ability to attain a great education. Our amazing local school districts and numerous, quality colleges and universities are consistently ranked among the nation's best. Those great resources are a big reason why these 5 New York cities have been named among America's most educated according to Wallethub. These rankings were scored based on educational attainment, quality of education, and the educational attainment gap between racial groups and gender.

Run Down But Not Forgotten-Abandoned Frontier Town in the Adirondacks

One of my favorite memories is going to Frontier Town in the Adirondacks. We always loved it when we would hop on the train and robbers would come alongside on horseback and try to take over. The rodeo was also a lot of fun. We made some great memories at Frontier Town. It has sat abandoned since 1998 but some of the attractions, yet overgrown, are still standing. Thanks to Antiquity Echoes' amazing video you can see what once was Frontier Town.

More From 107.7 WGNA