James W. "Bud" Crum

COLUMBUS - James W. "Bud" Crum, 80, passed away on January 5, 2009 in Columbus, Ohio. He was known as the "Dean of Central Ohio sportscasters," the "voice of the basketball Buckeyes"(1959-1979), and from 1968-1980 - with Phil Samp - as the "radio voice of the Cincinnati Bengals." Jimmy worked as sports director/sports anchor at WCMH-TV for 41 years. He retired on December 31, 1993.
Jimmy was born October 21, 1928, in Mansfield, Ohio.
He was preceded in death by parents, James E. and Winnifred Crum; and wife of 50 years, Miriam Crum.
Survived by daughter, Kelly (Steve) Delaveris of Columbus; and son Jimmy (Cathy) of Westfield, Indiana; as well as grandchildren, Nikolas, Michalea, Manny and Carl Delaveris, and Nathan and Rachel Crum; sister, Judie (Dick) Letizia of Dublin; sister-in-law, Mary Tolles of Mansfield; sister-in-law, Mary (Bill) Haffner of Centerville; and several nieces and nephews.
Jimmy began his broadcast career in 1940 at the age of 12 when he sang once a week on WMAN radio in Mansfield with Galion, Ohio's Avis Laverne Forest. After an injury-plagued run at high school football, at age 16 Jimmy became a sportscaster and disc jockey at WMAN (his voice having dropped from soprano to basso.) His first sportscast took place on Christmas Eve, 1944. He graduated from Mansfield Senior High School in 1946 and served in the Marine Corps from 1946-48. He then attended Ohio University, where he was a member of Phi Delta Theta fraternity.
Jimmy moved to Columbus in 1951 prior to college graduation, the same year Woody Hayes arrived to coach Ohio State football. He did play-by-play commentary of OSU football and Ohio high school state basketball tournaments for WFRD before joining WLWC-TV (later called WCMH-TV) on January 1, 1953.
Among his career highlights were five weeks spent on Kodiak Island, AK in 1956 filming "The Big Bear Hunt." The 13-week television series received a Billboard Award. The 1,300 lb. bear he shot is the official mascot of the Upper Arlington High School Golden Bears. His other televised hunting and fishing trips were filmed in Labrador, Wyoming and Acapulco, Mexico. In 1963, he spent three weeks in Sao Paulo, Brazil filming and reporting on two Ohio State students and three Columbus residents who were taking part in the Pan-American Games. In 1988 he traveled with OSU diver Kelly McCormick to Sidney, Australia as she prepared for Olympic Games in Seoul, Korea. In 1991 and 1992 he reported on Indy car driver Bobby Rahal at Surfers Paradise, Australia.
Among his many professional achievements are two Emmy awards for documentaries: Children's Hospital Burn Unit, "Three Tower North," and "Made in America," on Bobby Rahal, 1986 winner of the Indianapolis 500. Jimmy also received an Emmy from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) Board of Governors for Outstanding Contributions to Television. He was inducted into the Ohio Associated Press Broadcasters Hall of Fame; the NATAS Ohio Valley Chapter Silver Circle Hall of Fame; and the Ohio Senior Citizens Hall of Fame. In addition, he was a co-founder of the Columbus-Dayton Local of AFTRA (American Federation of Television and Radio Artists); a member of the Ohio High School Athletic Association Sportsmanship Committee; a member of the Easter Seals Board of Trustees; and a member Heinzerling Foundation Advisory Board. Jimmy was the first president of the Ohio Sportscasters Association, a long-time member of the Agonis Club, and also a member of Jerome United Methodist Church.
Known as much for his flashy sport coats and community service as for sportscasting, Jimmy for years served as president of Recreation Unlimited, a not-for- profit organization that provides year-round sports and camping programs to individuals with physical and developmental disabilities on a 165-acre wheelchair accessible campus in Ashley, Ohio. In 1963, he initiated the TV4 Sports Fund for Recreation Unlimited and in 1972 he introduced the annual "RU" Celebrity Waiters luncheon, which lasted for 32 years.
A tireless champion of "handicapable" children and adults, Jimmy was founding chairman of Ohio Special Olympics and for 21 years hosted Columbus' annual Easter Seal Telethon. He was also a frequent visitor to Children's Hospital, and was general chairman of the Burn Unit's fund-raising campaign from 1974-77. Over the years, Jimmy helped raise more than 30 million dollars for Central Ohio charities. In 1984, he received Sertoma's International "Service to Mankind" Award in Toronto, Canada. This led to a 1985 meeting with President Ronald Reagan in the Oval Office of the White House.
In 1993, with co-author Carole Gerber, Jimmy published his autobiography: How About That! Fifty Years of Cliff-Hangers and Barn-Burners. Columbus native and syndicated columnist Bob Greene summed up his contributions in the book's foreword: "Every person who has lived in the Columbus area since the invention of television knows Jimmy Crum's name, but fame is not his legacy. Jimmy could have gone through life dining out on his smile, telling sports anecdotes to strangers and basking in the false glow of fame. He didn't do it. What he did was go out of his way to help forgotten children virtually every day of his life. Not once for a certain child in need; not twice or three times. The children Jimmy cared for needed a friend, and Jimmy became their friend for life.
Fame is fleeting. Fame floats off into the night sky. Jimmy has achieved something better than fame, something that few public men and women can claim to have earned. It is this: "He is loved."
Family will receive friends 1-4 and 6-8pm Friday, January 9, at the Schoedinger Worthington Chapel, 6699 N. High St, just south of I-270 in Columbus. Memorial service 1pm Saturday, January 10, at Jerome United Methodist Church, 10531 Jerome Rd, Plain City, OH. Rev. Gloria Brooks officiating. Condolences may be sent to the family at www.Schoedinger.com. In lieu of flowers, Jimmy's family requests that donations be made to Recreation Unlimited, 7700 Piper Road, Ashley, OH 43003, in his memory.