Stuart Scott

Sportscasting legend Stuart Scott carved out a special niche in the ESPN family for himself after joining the umbrella network in 1993, pioneering an embrace among his colleagues of African-American and youth cultures. Graduating from work on "SportsNight" (ESPN2 1993-) to "SportsCenter" (ESPN 1979-) in 1997, and then to a position on the ABC network's NBA coverage team, Scott ultimately established himself as one of the most invaluable and ubiquitous faces in small screen athletic reporting. Stuart Orlando Scott was born in Chicago, Illinois, where he lived for seven years before relocating to Winston-Salem, North Carolina, with parents O. Ray and Jacqueline, sisters Susan and Synthia, and brother Stephen. Scott would lay the groundwork for his career in sports broadcasting at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he majored in speech communication, performed on the college radio station WXYC, and played for his university's club football team. The years after graduation would see Scott entertaining various jobs in local television, including a gig as a news reporter and sports anchor at Florence, South Carolina's WPDE-TV between 1987 and '88, followed by another reporting news for Raleigh, North Carolina's WRAL-TV between '88 and 1990, and then once more as a sports anchor for WESH, an NBC affiliate located down in Orlando, Florida. Scott established and honed his trademark voice, complete with a collection of catchphrases, while building up experience at these stations. The latter job introduced him to Gus Ramsey, an ESPN producer who helped to bring Scott aboard the major sports network. Scott's particular brand of panache was employed to kick off the youth-directed ESPN2, appearing on Keith Olbermann's program "SportsNight" (ESPN2 1993-), first with sporadic short segments and then with his own anchor's chair following Olbermann's departure from the series. It wasn't long before Scott himself advanced to the more prestigious "SportsCenter" (ESPN 1979-), earning his place on the show in 1997 and becoming a principal representative thereof over time. In 2002, Scott earned stature as the network's studio host of professional basketball coverage, taking form in a revived production of its former 1980s series "NBA on ESPN" (ESPN 2002-). Scott expanded his reach beyond the ESPN umbrella in 2007 when he joined the Big Three television network ABC for its own basketball coverage, "NBA on ABC" (ABC 2002-), maintaining his presence on ESPN all the while. Beyond his work covering sporting events, Scott also conducted interviews, both with revered athletes like Tiger Woods and Sammy Sosa, as well as political figures and world leaders including those with President Bill Clinton and President Barack Obama. Following an appendectomy in 2007, Scott was diagnosed with cancer, sustaining a busy work life during successful chemotherapy treatments. Scott faced cancer again in 2011, and then once more in 2014, ultimately losing his life in the latter battle on January 4, 2015 at the age of 49.