Stuart Scott (July 19, 1965 – January 4, 2015) was a sportscaster and anchor on ESPN, most notably on the network's SportsCenter.

Early life and career

Scott had two sisters: Susan and Synthia; and one brother Stephen. He attended Mount Tabor High School for 9th and 10th grade and then finished up his last two years at Richard J. Reynolds High School in Winston-Salem, North Carolina; and went to college at the University of North Carolina. He is a member of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity, and was part of the on-air talent at the student-run radio station WXYC. He graduated from the University of North Carolina in 1987 with a Bachelor of Arts in speech communication. Following graduation, Scott worked as a reporter at WPDE-TV in Florence, South Carolina, from 1988–1990 and at WRAL-TV 5 in Raleigh, North Carolina, from 1990–1993. He also worked at WESH, an NBC affiliate inOrlando, Florida, from 1993–1995.

ESPN

Scott joined ESPN2 at the network's launch in 1993 as the host of SportsNight. He worked for the ESPN family of networks as an anchor forSportsCenter episodes as well as National Football League and National Basketball Association programming. Scott also appeared in each issue ofESPN the Magazine, with his 'Holla' column. In his work at ESPN, he interviewed top professional athletes such as Tiger Woods and Michael Jordan, as well as two American Presidents: then-Senator Barack Obama and Bill Clinton.

Style

At SportsCenter Scott was frequently teamed with fellow anchor Rich Eisen. He became well known for his use of unique catch phrases, following in the SportsCenter tradition begun by Dan Patrick and Keith Olbermann, such as "holla at a playa when you see him in the street!", "call him butter, he's on a roll" and "Boo Yah!" and also "as cool as the other side of the pillow." He was parodied on Saturday Night Live by Tim Meadows and Finesse Mitchell.

Past television shows

Besides SportsCenter, Scott was the host of a number of television shows. His NFL work included NFL Matchup, NFL Live, NFL PrimeTime, and NFL Countdown, while his NBA work included hosting the NBA Finals and NBA Fastbreak. He also hosted a number of ESPN game and reality shows, including: Stump the Schwab, Teammatesand Dream Job, and hosted David Blaine's Drowned Alive special. He also hosted a special and only broadcast episode of America's Funniest Home Videos calledAFV:The Sports Edition.

Personal life

Scott lived with his two daughters, Taelor and Sydni in Avon, Connecticut.

Eye injury

Scott was injured when hit in the face by a football during a New York Jets mini-camp on April 3, 2002,[5] while filming a special for ESPN. He underwent surgery that night and was out of work for a few months. Afterward he suffered from ptosis, or drooping of the eyelid.

Appendectomy and cancer

Scott had an emergency appendectomy in Pittsburgh after becoming ill while covering the Pittsburgh Steelers–Miami Dolphins Monday Night Football game on November 26, 2007. The surgery also discovered a malignancy that required an additional surgery to remove possibly cancerous tissue. He returned a month later and continued on-air broadcasting during recommended preventive chemotherapy. ESPN President George Bodenheimer said "Stuart is approaching this fight with the same passion and energy we see on air... He knows he has our full support and we look forward to the day where this is all behind him."

In 2011, it was revealed that Scott was again battling cancer. The disease entered remission in early 2012, but Scott was again diagnosed with cancer on January 14, 2013.

Scott was honored at the ESPYS on July 16, 2014, with the Jimmy V Award for his ongoing fight against cancer. He shared that he had four surgeries in seven days in the week prior to his appearance, when he was suffering from liver complications and kidney failure.

After a seven year battle with cancer, Stuart died the morning of January 4, 2015.

Filmography

Movies

• He Got Game (1998)
• Disney's The Kid (2000)
• Drumline (2002)
• Love Don't Cost A Thing (2003)
• Mr. 3000 (2004)
• Herbie: Fully Loaded (2005)
• The Longest Yard (2005)
• Enchanted (2007)
• The Game Plan (2007)
• Just Wright (2010)

Television

• Arli$$ (2000)
• I Love the '80s (U.S. TV series) (2002)
• Soul Food (2003)
• She Spies (2005)
• I Love the '70s (U.S. TV series) (2003)
• One on One (2004)
• Stump the Schwab (2004)
• Dream Job (2004)
• Teammates (2005)
• I Love the '90s (U.S. TV series) (2004)
• I Love the Holidays (2005)
• I Love Toys (2006)
• Black to the Future (2009)