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Bill Mazer (born Morris Mazer; November 2, 1920 – October 23, 2013) was an American television and radio personality. He won numerous awards and citations, including three National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association's Sportscaster of the Year awards for New York from 1964 to 1966. Considered a New York institution in sports reporting, Mazer was inducted into the hall of fame for the Buffalo Broadcasters Association (1999), Buffalo Baseball Hall of Fame (2000) and the National Jewish Sports Hall of Fame and Museum (1997). He is also recognized as the host of the first sports talk radio show in history that launched in March 1964 on WNBC (AM).
Mazer earned the nickname "The A-Maz-In" for his deep knowledge of sports trivia. This was made evident while hosting his WNBC radio show in the 1960s. Based on this, he wrote several sports trivia books, including Bill Mazer's Amazin' Baseball Book: 150 Years of Baseball Tales & Trivia published by Zebra Books in 1990.
After returning home, he married Dora Sudarsky ("Dutch"), his pre-war sweetheart. They had three children. Their marriage lasted 50 years until Sudarsky's death from cancer on April 28, 1996. The New York Knickerbockers observed a moment of silence during their May 1, 1996 Playoff game. Mazer never remarried.
His career as a sportscaster began in Buffalo, New York in 1947, where he signed on as a sportscaster on WWKB. In 1947, he was also the commercial announcer on the CBS William L. Shirer Newscast, as well as the commercial announcer for the soap opera, When a Girl Marries. By 1948, he had also become the sports director for WGR and served as principal sports anchor for WGRZ-TV from the time that station signed on in 1954 through the early 1960s. Mazer dominated the airwaves in Buffalo, broadcasting the hockey and baseball Buffalo Bisons, the All-American Football Conference Buffalo Bills and Little 3 Basketball. With years of play-by-play and sports commentary in Buffalo under his belt, Mazer arrived in New York City in 1964 when WNBC (AM) went to its first all-talk format. His show was one of the pioneer examples of modern sports talk show in United States.
After filling in for Hugh Downs on the NBC game show Concentration, he was given his show, Reach for the Stars, in January 1967, but the show was quickly cancelled. Mazer also filled in for segments of the long-running NBC Radio series Monitor, even hosting on occasion.
During the 1960s and 1970s, Mazer did much voice-over Advertising work, from L&M Cigarettes, Eastman Kodak, Ford automobiles to Trident chewing gum, among many others.
While doing sports for The 10 O'Clock News on WNEW in the late 1970s and '80s, he held a daily contest where a viewer would send in a question to "stump" Bill and would win a prize if he or she did. Usually, the submitted question was asked by anchorman John Roland.
He appeared on the Cable television show The Leon Charney Report, as well as minor parts in movies such as Eyewitness, Raging Bull and appearing in episodes of ESPN SportsCentury as an expert on sport figures including Gordie Howe, Lawrence Taylor and Mickey Mantle.
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