Hilliard Gates was a pioneering sportscaster widely regarded as the founding father of Indiana sports broadcasting. He was the first broadcaster inducted into the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame in 1969 and was named Indiana Sportscaster of the Year seven times.
Born on December 14, 1915, as Hilliard Gates Gudelsky, Gates began his broadcasting career at WKBZ in Muskegon, Michigan, in 1937, before moving to Fort Wayne, Indiana, in 1940 to join WOWO radio. During World War II, he served in the Army Air Corps in 1943 while continuing part-time work at WOWO.
He was hired by WKJG radio as the station manager and sportscaster in 1947. In 1953 Gates was the first person to appear live on TV in Fort Wayne when he signed WKJG-TV on air. He later became its General Manager and Vice President.
Gates became a household name in Indiana when he began covering high school basketball games in 1940 and providing television coverage of the state finals starting in 1954. He also hosted Gatesway to Sports on WKJG-TV, a popular segment spotlighting local athletes. He also was cast as the announcer in the 1986 movie Hoosiers because of his distinctive broadcasting style and importance to Indiana sports.
His contributions extended nationally, as he called the first NBA All-Star Game for Mutual network in 1951 and provided play-by-play coverage for the 1967 and 1968 Rose Bowls on NBC radio. He also covered the Indianapolis 500 for nine years for Canadian television.
Gates served twice as president of the Indiana Sports Writers and Broadcasters Association and was a key figure in advancing sports broadcasting in the state. His accolades include being named Sagamore of the Wabash and having the Hilliard Gates Sports Center at Purdue University Fort Wayne named in his honor.
Gates retired in 1993 and passed away on November 21, 1996, at the age of 80.
