Bill Sears
WPEN Radio
1946

Bill Sears had been in Philadelphia broadcasting for many years. In the earlier days, he was at WPEN radio (during the forties) where, among other things, he broadcast sporting events including college football. During his lengthy career, Bill did play by play for baseball games on both radio and television.

Later, Bill moved to WCAU; first on radio and later on WCAU-TV, Channel 10. In August & September of 1948, we know that Bill did a 10-minute program on Channel 10 entitled, "The Sports Page with Bill Sears." It aired daily at 6:30 pm. We also know that during September of that same year, he hosted a weekly WCAU-TV program on Thursday evenings at 7:45 pm for fifteen minutes. It was called, "The Four Leaf Clover with Bill Sears."

One show that Bill hosted was In the Park, which originated live from the facilities of WCAU-TV and carried nationally by CBS-TV. He was both air talent and producer.

In early 1953, Bill hosted a local program on Channel 10 called The Bill Sears Show, which was aired daily at 8:05 am. Bill Sears left broadcasting and became involved in the Baha'i Faith. He became one of their highest officials, one of the Hands of the Cause of God, custodians selected by the Baha'i founders to propagate the faith and protect the community. Baha'i is a religion with over 5 million members throughout the world.

Rick Patton, a visitor to our website, e-mailed: I met Bill in April of 1953, but my memory of the meeting is a little hazy, I was only a week old at the time. My father is a now retired veteran of WCAU, and worked as a sound engineer on “In the Park.” I was his first kid, and got shown off, I guess.

Born on Tuesday, March 28, 1911 in Duluth, Minnesota, Bill wrote two books, "God Loves Laughter" and "Thief in the Night.” Both are autobiographical. In 1993, his wife Marguerite penned a biography of Sears called “Bill.”

Bill Sears passed away from a heart attack on Wednesday, March 25, 1992 at the age of 80 in Tucson, Arizona where he lived since 1984. He was 80 years old.

From the official archives of the Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia
All three photos originally donated by Julia Sears-Hartley, Bill's granddaughter
© 2002, All Rights Reserved

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