He was so influential that he was voted one of the top 100 most influential people in sports and even voted higher than Michael Jordan for a few years. Some of his favorite announcers were John Madden, Jim Nantz, and Bob Costas. Rudy was actually the first in the industry to hire Bob Costas. Rudy was the Director of Operations for the Spirit of St. Louis of the ABA in 1974. He also worked for 3 other Pro Basketball organizations.