Longtime ESPN personality, John Saunders, has died at the age of 61.
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“Very sorry to hear of the passing of fellow Scarborough, Ont., native and Ryerson grad John Saunders of @espn”, tweeted hockey insider Bob McKenzie of TSN.
“John was an extraordinary talent, and his friendly, informative style has been a warm welcome to sports fans for decades”, John Skipper, the president of ESPN, said in a statement. “His wide range of accomplishments across numerous sports and championship events is among the most impressive this industry has ever seen”, ESPN president John Skipper said in a statement.
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..
Tributes for Saunders poured in from a number of his ESPN colleagues including Chris Mortensen, who is now battling cancer.
Saunders was host of ABC’s Saturday studio coverage of college football and select editions of ESPN’s College Football Live and ESPN’s college basketball studio coverage. He was best known as the host of “The Sports Reporters”. He was also host of The Sports Reporters.
At ESPN, Saunders also called play-by-play for college basketball since 1990, WNBA from 1999-2001 and NBDL games in 2001.
Mr. Saunders was frequently involved in ESPN’s coverage of major games.
I know that I can speak for all of us that work in the college football world when I say that the upcoming season just will not be the same without hearing his voice. He was hired by ESPN in 1986 to anchor “SportsCenter”.
He then worked as a sports anchor at WMAR-TV in Baltimore from 1982 to 1986.
“The doctor told me that there was a good chance it was going to be cancer”, Vitale told the Associated Press. From 1995 to 2001, Saunders was the play-by-play announcer for the NBA’s Toronto Raptors on CKVR and CITY, while continuing to work at ESPN.
It’s in these years that he would start his career in sports journalism, being news director at CKNS Radio, in the small town of Espanola, Ontario in 1978. Afterward, he would be named to the Ontario University Athletic Association All-Star team.
Mr. Saunders was born on February 2, 1955, in Ajax, Ontario.
Saunders younger brother, Bernie, played 10 National Hockey League games for the Quebec Nordiques from 1979 to 1981.
Saunders was an active mentor to young and aspiring journalists.
He is survived by his wife and two daughters.
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ESPN commentator John Saunders prior to a game between the North Carolina State Wolfpack and Tennessee Volunteers at PNC Arena.
