My last regular job in radio broadcasting was as a reporter and anchor for Network Indiana in 1983. Later that year, I made the difficult decision to leave broadcast journalism and pursue another career.

During that final year, Don Fischer was working the sports side of Network Indiana. News and sports sat at opposite ends of the building, so I rarely saw Don or the rest of the sports crew. But I knew he was well liked by the staff. It is one thing to be an outstanding broadcaster and quite another to be an outstanding person. Don Fischer was, and is, both.

Indiana University’s public television station, WTIU, has produced a documentary about Don and his 50-plus years as the voice of IU football and basketball. It is called “Timeless: Don Fischer’s Half-Century Broadcasting IU Sports,” written and produced by Mark Alesia. It premiered Aug. 28 and runs about a half hour.

His story is a lot like mine. He went to a broadcast trade school out of high school, and so did I. In the documentary, Don says the first football game where he called play-by-play was the worst broadcast in history. He is wrong about that. My first venture into football play-by-play, in 1970, was certainly worse.

The difference is that Don had people willing to teach him the craft, and he improved. He was 26 when IU hired him in 1973 to build the school’s first exclusive sports radio network. He has since called more than 2,000 IU football and basketball games, been named Indiana Sportscaster of the Year more than 20 times, and been inducted into the Indiana University Athletics Hall of Fame. He has become a legend as an IU broadcaster.

In the mid-1980s, I worked at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway during time off from my regular job, covering practice and qualifying for the Indianapolis 500. I met up with Don one year and we caught up, talking about people we both knew in the business. Let’s just say Don Fischer is a class act.

Very few people understand how much work goes into preparing to broadcast a sports event on radio or television. You put together massive amounts of material and usually end up using about 10% of it. You never know how a game will unfold, so you have to be ready for whatever comes at you.

Don Fischer is 78 years old and still going strong, calling play-by-play of IU sports. I will be 75 in a few days, and I doubt I have it together anymore to call a game on the radio. Don is still doing it, and at a very high level.

The documentary is worth your time. WTIU also has screenings scheduled at venues around Indiana during September. The link to the film is below.