ESPN Remembers Former Chairman Of The Board Herb Granath

Herb Granath, a television visionary who was ESPN’s chairman of the board for 16 years, died Nov. 26th in Stamford, Conn. He was 91.

As an ABC executive, Granath guided the network’s expansion into cable and international television in the mid-1980s, including the acquisition of ESPN in 1984. Granath served as chairman of the board of ESPN (from 1984-2000), A&E, The History Channel and Lifetime Television. When The Walt Disney Company acquired ABC and ESPN in 1995, Granath was named chairman of Disney/ABC International.

(L-R) ESPN execuive Chet Simmons; ABC executives Fred Pierce and Elton Rule; ESPN executives Stu Evey and Herb Granath pose on the Bristol campus. (Tom Ford/ESPN)

May 1, 1983: (L-R) ESPN executives Herb Granath and Stu Evey; boxer Renaldo Snipes; boxing promoter Don King, boxer Greg Page and ESPN executive Bill Grimes pose in this promotional photo for RSVP (Reserved Seat Video Productions) – a joint venture between ABC Video Enterprises and Getty Oil which presented The Crown Affair, a boxing PPV event. (RSVP)

In ESPN’s control room: director Chip Dean (seated); ESPN executives Scotty Connal, Herb Granath, and Chet Simmons welcome ABC executives Fred Pierce and Elton Rule.(Tom Ford/ESPN Images)