AM 900 - CHMLAM

Bill's Biography

Bill Sturrup was born on June 20th 1938, and grew up on Lorne Avenue in the Gage and Main area, and as a kid, started playing disc jockey with his parents' 78 r.p.m. records. Later on, he spun records at dances at Delta High School and Ryerson United Church, and won a public speaking award at Adelaide Hoodless Public School. Sturrup also sang in Delta's choir and glee club. The Delta high school student got his start in radio on Paul Hanover's high school show on CHML, where reporters would come on from each high school. He helped found the school newspaper and quickly earned him the nickname "Scoop". Bill's first paying job was writing a high school sports and old country soccer column for The Hamilton Spectator. He also wrote for the Hamilton Daily News, and made brief stops at CJOY radio in Guelph CH Television in Hamilton, before embarking on his long career at CHML on March 1st, 1961. He had a voice Hamiltonians loved listening to, the golden tones of yesteryear still carried the same weight in today's ever changing media. Sports fans recognize Bill as the public address voice at many hockey, football, basketball and baseball games over the last 50 years. His dad, Francis, had been involved in the old PONY baseball league that included the Hamilton Cardinals, and Bill used to play records before the games over the PA system. He worked with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, Bulldogs, Canucks, Cardinals, Dukes, Fincups, Fire Wheels, Kilty Bees, Red Wings, Skyhawks, Steelhawks, Tiger Cubs, McMaster Marauders, Toronto Argonauts, Toros, the Vanier Cup, the Memorial Cup, Calder Cup, the World Junior Hockey Championships and Canada Cup. The Bulldogs recently honoured Bill by naming the press box at Copps Coliseum after him. Movie fans will remember him as the president of the Toronto Film Society, established in 1948 as a non-profit organization for the study and appreciation of motion pictures. Bill fell in love with the silver screen at age 6, when going to the movies was an event, where he would take in the latest Superman serial. Bill was also a familiar face in the Halls of Justice, covering various trials and winning numerous Police and Fire Department Awards. Hamilton police recently honoured Bill by naming a new room at Central Headquarters the Bill Sturrup Media & Community Room. Each year, Hamilton Crime Stoppers hand out an excellence award in Bill's name. In fact, he was everywhere... Bill was a proud part of the CHML family for 45 years, and covered the news for Hamiltonians from across the country and around the world. Bill covered just about every major news story in the city, and says the Jon Rallo murder case and trial, and the Harbourgate scandal of the 1970s were two of the biggest. CHML's Mayor of the Morning Paul Hanover, used to call Bill "Mr. Everywhere and Mr. Everything" because "there wasn't a job he couldn't do or didn't want to do at the station or in the community". His CHML biography reads, "Bill is a bear for hard work and took a day off once, and didn't like it!" Bill was inducted into the CHML Hall of Fame in 2004, joining the likes of Hanover, Tom Darling and Lee Dunbar. Sturrup leaves behind his wife Kathy of over 40 years, his two children Debbie and Mike and his three grandchildren. Bill Sturrup was 68.