of the school's five national championships in a 19-season span (1983-2001). End of anchorman career In the early 1970s, rival WFIL-TV (now WPVI-TV) adopted the highly successful Action News format based on the news broadcasts heard on Top 40 radio stations and heavily influenced by tabloid newspapers. Brief coverage was given to almost every event happening in town. WCAU's ratings collapsed, and, as was a common practice, network executives decided that they needed a younger anchor to complement the 60-year-old Facenda. In 1972, 27-year-old Judd Hambrick was brought in as co-anchor. With the first wave of baby boomers entering broadcasting, Facenda graciously decided to step down and make way for the next generation. His last newscast as anchor for WCAU was on March 23, 1973. Many viewers were upset over the loss of Facenda, and his retirement failed to improve ratings. (Part of the decline of WCAU's ratings can also be attributed to rival KYW hiring Jessica Savitch as one of its primary co-anchors in 1972.) After stepping down as anchor, Facenda continued to work for WCAU in various capacities as a narrator, program director, and host of special reports. He was co-anchor for the station's coverage of Pope John Paul II's visit to Philadelphia in 1979. For many years, he was also the familiar voice of the John Wanamaker Department Store's Christmas Light Show. In 1983, he narrated the NFL Films production of "Frontiers and Beyond", the tour documentary of the rock band Journey. Twelve days before Facenda died, he was presented with the Governor's Award for Lifetime Achievement by the Philadelphia chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. Facenda was named Person of the Year by the Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia in 1971 and was inducted into their Hall of Fame in 1992. Death Facenda died of cancer on September 26, 1984 at the age of 72. In 2021, Facenda was posthumously honored with the Pete Rozelle Radio-Television Award from the Pro Football Hall of Fame. References External links Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia web page 1913 births 1984 deaths Villanova University alumni People from Portsmouth, Virginia American television journalists American broadcast news analysts American male journalists National Football League announcers NFL Films people NFL Films Television anchors from Philadelphia American people of Italian descent Deaths from lung cancer in Pennsylvania Burials in Pennsylvania