Longtime ESPN broadcaster John Saunders has died, the network announced on Wednesday. He was 61.
The cause and time of Saunders' passing was not immediately released. Saunders, a native of Canada, had worked at ESPN since 1986 and was one of the network’s most visible and respected anchors.
“John was an extraordinary talent and his friendly, informative style has been a warm welcome to sports fans for decades,” ESPN President John Skipper 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. More importantly, John was a beloved and devoted family man who cared deeply about people and causes, as evidenced by his long-standing efforts as a passionate board member for The V Foundation for Cancer Research.”
The tributes began rolling in moments after Saunders' death was reported.
{"url":"https://twitter.com/JeremySchaap/status/763397006803042305","author_name":"Jeremy Schaap","author_url":"https://twitter.com/JeremySchaap","html":"&#lt;blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"&#gt;&#lt;p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\"&#gt;I will miss my friend John Saunders. Talented. Generous. Kind. Too young.&#lt;/p&#gt;— Jeremy Schaap (@JeremySchaap) &#lt;a href=\"https://twitter.com/JeremySchaap/status/763397006803042305\"&#gt;August 10, 2016&#lt;/a&#gt;&#lt;/blockquote&#gt;\n&#lt;script async src=\"//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"&#gt;&#lt;/script&#gt;","width":550,"height":null,"type":"rich","cache_age":"3153600000","provider_name":"Twitter","provider_url":"https://twitter.com","version":"1.0"}
{"url":"https://twitter.com/DickieV/status/763399307076726784","author_name":"Dick Vitale","author_url":"https://twitter.com/DickieV","html":"&#lt;blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"&#gt;&#lt;p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\"&#gt;Memories John at my house with &#lt;a href=\"https://twitter.com/nicwallenda\"&#gt;@nicwallenda&#lt;/a&#gt; Will miss u so much ! May he RIP &#lt;a href=\"https://t.co/ZUKnGiOrKP\"&#gt;pic.twitter.com/ZUKnGiOrKP&#lt;/a&#gt;&#lt;/p&#gt;— Dick Vitale (@DickieV) &#lt;a href=\"https://twitter.com/DickieV/status/763399307076726784\"&#gt;August 10, 2016&#lt;/a&#gt;&#lt;/blockquote&#gt;\n&#lt;script async src=\"//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"&#gt;&#lt;/script&#gt;","width":550,"height":null,"type":"rich","cache_age":"3153600000","provider_name":"Twitter","provider_url":"https://twitter.com","version":"1.0"}
{"url":"https://twitter.com/lindacohn/status/763394906081652737","author_name":"Linda Cohn","author_url":"https://twitter.com/lindacohn","html":"&#lt;blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"&#gt;&#lt;p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\"&#gt;I'm shocked, saddened. Can't believe one of the best, John Saunders, has passed away at 61. All time great guy. Heartbroken for his family.&#lt;/p&#gt;— Linda Cohn (@lindacohn) &#lt;a href=\"https://twitter.com/lindacohn/status/763394906081652737\"&#gt;August 10, 2016&#lt;/a&#gt;&#lt;/blockquote&#gt;\n&#lt;script async src=\"//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"&#gt;&#lt;/script&#gt;","width":550,"height":null,"type":"rich","cache_age":"3153600000","provider_name":"Twitter","provider_url":"https://twitter.com","version":"1.0"}
Saunders most recently served as the host of ABC’s Saturday college football coverage along with ESPN’s college football and college basketball studio shows. He had been the host of ESPN’s weekly roundtable show The Sports Reporters since December 2011.
Saunders was one of ESPN’s most versatile talents. He did play-by-play for college basketball and WNBA games. Beyond college football and basketball, Saunders also anchored the network’s coverage of NHL Stanley Cup playoffs and Major League Baseball.
Saunders was capable hockey player before he went into broadcasting. He was an all-star defenseman as a youth in Montreal and attended Western Michigan on a hockey scholarship.
He was close to the late Jim Valvano, the former college basketball coach turned ESPN broadcaster. Saunders was a founding member of The V Foundation and was on the foundation’s board of directors.
{"url":"https://twitter.com/TheVFoundation/status/763400383452487681","author_name":"The V Foundation","author_url":"https://twitter.com/TheVFoundation","html":"&#lt;blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"&#gt;&#lt;p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\"&#gt;We are stunned and saddened by the passing of our Board Member and friend John Saunders. His passion for the Foundation was truly unmatched.&#lt;/p&#gt;— The V Foundation (@TheVFoundation) &#lt;a href=\"https://twitter.com/TheVFoundation/status/763400383452487681\"&#gt;August 10, 2016&#lt;/a&#gt;&#lt;/blockquote&#gt;\n&#lt;script async src=\"//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"&#gt;&#lt;/script&#gt;","width":550,"height":null,"type":"rich","cache_age":"3153600000","provider_name":"Twitter","provider_url":"https://twitter.com","version":"1.0"}
