Ask sportscaster Gary Bender what were the first games he announced, and he might say they were during his countless hours driving a tractor on the family’s farm outside of Ulysses, Kansas.

He made up baseball games in Yankee Stadium, and football games in the Orange Bowl or maybe the Los Angeles Coliseum. He’d even sing the national anthem, and do the commercials.

Ultimately, those imaged games became reality, as he announced some of the most memorable competitions in sports history, from a young Michael Jordan’s game-winning shot as a freshman, to Roger Staubach’s Hail Mary pass when the Cowboys beat the Vikings, and the alley-oop “Shot Heard Around the World” when North Carolina State upset Houston at the buzzer.

Gary broadcast 29 different sports in his 40-year career, and during that time inspired countless people to reach for their dreams with class and determination.

Original air date: February 29, 2024.

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