Stuart Scott, 1965-2015

SportsCenter anchor Stuart Scott died at the age of 49. He had battled cancer three times and was hoping to beat it again before succumbing this morning.

Scott helped to launch ESPN2 in 1993 with Keith Olbermann and Suzy Kolber. Eventually, Scott and Kolber would move to ESPN and host SportsCenter along with other shows. Scott hosted ESPN’s NBA Finals coverage as well as Monday Night Countdown. Other shows he hosted included Dream Job and Stump the Schwab.

During the 1990’s, Scott would co-anchor SportsCenter with Rich Eisen and eventually partner with Steve Levy. He made “Booyah!” and “As cool as the other side of the pillow” synonymous with SportsCenter. He was featured in several “This is SportsCenter” promos and with Levy, re-launched SportsCenter in the new Digital Center-2 building on the ESPN Bristol, CT campus.

Scott will be remembered as one of the groundbreaking anchors on SportsCenter who refused to change his style and remained true to himself.

Last march, Richard Sandomir of the New York Times chronicled Scott’s battle against cancer.

Hannah Storm had the difficult task of reporting Scott’s death on SportsCenter this morning.

That led into this 15 minute tribute to Scott.

As you can imagine, the ESPN family as well as those outside are sharing their thoughts on Scott’s passing:

I can't believe he is gone. There was nobody like Stuart Scott, There will never be again. A big presence with even a bigger heart. RIP SS.

— Linda Cohn (@lindacohn) January 4, 2015

I'm not sure who would make up the Mt . Rushmore of ESPN anchors but I know Stu would be one of them

— Karl Ravech (@karlravechespn) January 4, 2015

Any conversation or gig with Stuart Scott left you feeling all the better for it. Pioneer, profile in courage, father, friend to us all.

— Bob Ley (@BobLeyESPN) January 4, 2015

Words cannot express the grief. #RIPStuartScott

— Rich Eisen (@richeisen) January 4, 2015

I met Stuart Scott in the makeup room at ESPN. He walked up, shook my hand and said "Welcome to ESPN, I'm Stuart." RIP. What a sad day.

— Jaymee Sire (@jaymee) January 4, 2015

There will never be another Stuart Scott. Thinking about his daughters, his family, his friends and his fight. Fought so damn hard.

— Randy Scott (@RandyScottESPN) January 4, 2015

Stuart Scott's death has left me speechless. I never thought the cancer would win. He fought it with ferocity & dignity. RIP.

— Matt Winer (@MattWinerTV) January 4, 2015

RIP, Stu Scott. You fought so hard for so long, my friend. Go rock that BOOYAH in Heaven like no one's bizness pic.twitter.com/0qecRGrUWJ

— Bonnie Bernstein (@BonnieBernstein) January 4, 2015

And here’s Scott’s speech at the 2014 ESPY’s accepting the Jimmy V Perseverance Award.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yl_0ieqSi7Q

Here’s Stuart breaking down his first SportsCenter appearance in 1993 co-anchoring with Craig Kilborn.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Rgt8195Mcj4

Scott is survived by his two daughters, Taelor, 19, and Sydni, 15, his parents, three siblings and his girlfriend. In lieu of flowers, the family asks for donations to the V Foundation.

[ESPN]