William Randolph "Sonny" Hill is a former basketball player and announcer. He is a member of the Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame, and current sports radio personality in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He also serves as an executive advisor for the Philadelphia 76ers. He is known as Mr. Basketball and "The Mayor of Basketball" in Philadelphia for founding the eponymous Sonny Hill League and for his many contributions to the game.
Hill was born and raised in Philadelphia. After graduating from Northeast High School in 1959, he attended college for two years and then joined the Eastern Basketball League. Sonny played college basketball and semi-professionally in the Eastern Basketball League from 1958 to 1967. Hill began his broadcast career in 1969 as a color commentator with Andy Musser for the Philadelphia 76ers. He was also a commentator with the NBA on CBS from 1972 until 1977. He has hosted a weekly show on Philadelphia radio station WIP since 1987.
In 1960, Sonny co-founded the Charles Baker Memorial Summer League which would become the top off season showcase of pro basketball talent. In 1968, the Sonny Hill Community Involvement League was founded in 1968 as a safe haven from gang warfare and other violence. The league, which began as an extension of the Charles Baker Memorial League, is an amateur summer basketball organization in the Delaware Valley and today consists of more than 60 teams serving more than 800 student athletes. It presents an alternative to the challenges of the street and provides participants with discipline, guidance, and direction as well as offers students tutoring and career counseling programs in addition to basketball. It's been said that the Sonny Hill League has done more to battle the perils of gangs and drugs and promote life skills than any other program in the city of Philadelphia.
Sonny was named one of the 100 most influential minorities in sports by Sports Illustrated in 2004. In 2008, he was honored with the Mannie Jackson Basketball Human Spirit Award presented by the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, an award that honors individuals "who have incorporated basketball into their efforts to contribute to the greater good of society".
Sonny's influence goes beyond the basketball court - known for his roles as a 76ers executive, radio host, broadcaster, counselor and mentor to thousands of young men and widely acknowledged for his ability to reach kids through the game of basketball to become better people.
