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Rudy Martzke, who spent many years covering sports media for USA Today has died at the age of 82. Martzke started at USA Today in 1982 and was there until he retired in 2005.
He was well known for his Rudy’s, where he would praise announcers doing well and critical of those not meeting expectations. Martzke had an account on X which someone was helping populate with news and notes from around sports broadcasting. Those posts stopped on November 10th.
When Martzke wrote his last column for the paper 19 years ago, it read in part:
“While some at times have blistered me with complaints –- Gary Bender, Howard Cosell and even [Pat] Summerall –- my experiences have largely been positive while covering the TV sports business during a period of its greatest growth.” Martzke adds, “The plaudits have come as the Sports on TV column became recognized. There have been features on me in Sports Illustrated and other magazines, a charity Rudy Roast in 2000 [in Biloxi, Mississippi] and a proclamation read to me at the men’s Final Four in St. Louis by NCAA President Myles Brand, who described me as an icon. Can’t do any better than that, I guess.”
Several people have given their thoughts on Martzke passing via social media including former CBS Sports Senior…
