Anthony William Paczkowski was born in Wellsville, New York.
His parents later changed the Polish surname Paczkowski to Packer.
His father, Tony, was a standout athlete at St. Lawrence University, competing in football, basketball, and baseball, and was inducted into the university’s Hall of Fame in 1982. Tony spent 35 years at Lehigh University, including 16 seasons as the men’s basketball coach from 1950 to 1966.
Curt Gowdy, Jim Thacker, Dick Enberg, Al McGuire, Gary Bender, Brent Musburger, and (from 1991 to 2008) Jim Nantz and Verne Lundquist (usually pre-Championship Week when Nantz was covering the NFL and/or golf) were among Packer’s broadcast teammates. Tim Brant was Packer’s on-air partner when he worked games for Raycom Sports.
Mel Proctor was Packer’s on-air partner for the 1992 Winter Olympics, which Nantz covered for CBS. While Jim Nantz was covering the 1994 Winter Olympics for CBS, Packer did play-by-play alongside Al McGuire for two games (a February 6, 1994 contest between Purdue and Iowa and a February 27, 1994 contest between Indiana and Minnesota).
On April 4, 1983, after Lorenzo Charles made a game-winning slam dunk to lift North Carolina State to the NCAA championship, Packer exclaimed, “They won it…on the dunk!”
With just over 2 minutes left in the 1991 National Semi-Final game against undefeated UNLV, Packer said, “Duke doesn’t need a 3-pointer here,” just as Bobby Hurley shot and made one of the biggest baskets in Duke basketball history.
After the University of Arizona won the national championship in 1997, star player Miles Simon celebrated on the court. “Simon says… championship,” Packer observed the scene.
Who are Billy Packer’s children Mark Packer and Brandt Packer?
Billy Packer has three children: Brandt, Liz, and Mark. Mark is a sports radio host in Charlotte, North Carolina, and Brandt is a Golf Channel producer.
