John Saunders left WMAR-TV in Baltimore in 1986 after anchoring multiple daily sports reports for the network for almost four years and joined ESPN as a SportsCenter anchor. In 2012, he shared with rolling out reporter Amir Shaw during a visit to ESPN his perspective on why there are so few Blacks in the sport.
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Shaken, Storm ran down Saunders’ impressive broadcasting resume, emphasizing his status as a founding board member of The V Foundation, and calling him “generous, kind and beloved”.
John Skipper, president of ESPN, said in a statement that Saunders was an “extraordinary talent” with a “friendly, informative style” that “has been a warm welcome to sports fans for decades”.
Perhaps most importantly, John Saunders is remembered by his colleagues, friends, and family as an inspiration; an excellent person, always kind and helpful. “Our thoughts are with his loved ones at this extremely hard time”.
Saunders colleague Hannah Storm made the emotional announcement on live on ESPN SporsCentre earlier today.
During that time he was also the TV play-by-play announcer for the Toronto Raptors, a role he’d hold until 2001.
Saunders was born in Ajax, Ontario, Canada on February 2, 1955.
Saunders played college hockey at Western Michigan University and Toronto’s Ryerson University in the 1970s before graduating and pursuing a career in journalism. His brother, Bernie, played for the Quebec Nordiques from 1979-81. He did play-by-play, led NHL Stanley Cup and World Series coverage on ESPN and ABC, and hosted studio shows for baseball, college football and college basketball.
Saunders was an active mentor to young and aspiring journalists. They had two daughters, Aleah and Jenna. “John was the patriarch of our family, and we can’t believe he is gone”, Saunders family said in a statement. He was all about family and helping people. “He was as good as it gets and he had deep loyalty and love for others”.
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Indianapolis Colts player Pat McAfee, after admitting that he found most ESPN personalities tough to like, mentions that John was “somebody you couldn’t help but love”. “He will be forever in our thoughts”.
