Former WXXI reporter and longtime local radio personality Bill Flynn died Tuesday at age 60, after a battle with cancer.
Bill was a producer of WXXI’s midday talk show, "1370 Connection with Bob Smith," and occasionally co-hosted the sports talk show "1370 Sports Connection" with Times-Union reporter Rick Woodson.
He started his radio career while he was still in high school, doing sports reporting and play-by-play announcing for WRHR-FM. In 1976, he joined WSAY-AM, and in 1984, he joined the news team at WXXI.
His on-air work included the 1996 documentary "Sounds of Silver: Celebrating Rochester's Silver Stadium," and the award-winning feature about Zippy Chippy, the thoroughbred horse who never won a race in his 100 starts at tracks in the Northeast.
Bill earned many awards over his career, including four Edward R. Murrow Awards and 11 New York State Associated Press Awards. In 2010, he was inducted into Rochester’s Frontier Field Walk of Fame.
Bill is remembered by friends and colleagues as an integral member of the Rochester broadcasting community. In addition to his sports journalism, Bill was also an avid sports memorabilia collector. He was working on a book about Rochester radio at the time of his passing.
