Little League® International remembers Bill Webb, a former Director of ABC Television’s “Wide World of Sports.” He was 70.
Mr. Webb a native of West Orange, N.J., directed several ABC Sports productions from 1988 to 1996, including “Wide World of Sports.” It was with the Wide World of Sports where Mr. Webb became connected with Little League®, through his direction of Little League Baseball World Series games in Williamsport, Pa.
Through more than four decades in sports television, Mr. Webb also directed nearly 20 Major League Baseball World Series, and won more than 40 Emmy awards.
In 1969, following graduation from Kinnelon (N.J.) High School, and one year at the University of Tennessee, Mr. Webb was hired at what is now WWOR-TV. Starting his career in the traffic department, and rotating commercials for a short time, he began working on the WWOR coverage of Major League Baseball’s New York Mets as the associate director; and eventually became the director. As the Mets games moved from one carrier to another Mr. Webb stayed connected, working for Fox, the Madison Square Garden network (MSG), and Sports New York (SNY).
Mr. Webb is credited with developing television direction techniques that enhanced the presentation of baseball, that are now considered industry standards. Among these techniques are the practice of speeding up the TV viewer’s perceived pace of a game by using quick cuts, extreme close-ups, and split screens.
Mr. Webb is survived by his wife; Cynthia; three children Samantha, Erin, and Matthew; and his sister Anne; and brother, Frank.