Famed ESPN anchor Stuart Orlando Scott passed away Sunday, Jan. 4 after a seven-year battle with appendix cancer. Scott, 49, had previously battled the disease twice before, but succumbed to a third relapse.
Stuart Scott was born in Chicago in 1965. His family moved to Salem, NC when he was 16 and that is where he finished school. He went onto attend the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Speech Communication. After graduating, he worked for WPDE-TV in Florence, SC as a news reporter, and a sports anchor. While working there, he developed the first of his trademark catchphrases, “cooler than the other side of the pillow”.
He left WPDE, and moved to Raleigh, NC to work for WRAL. He then moved to Orlando, FL and worked at WESH-TV until his big break in 1993.
In 1993, he was hired by ESPN, whose thoughts of Scott were that he could appeal to younger audiences. His first assignment was on a show called “SportsSmash.” After several successful years, he was promoted to an anchor on ESPN’s Sportscenter. He also was the head anchor on the on-site coverage of the NBA Finals, and the Major League Baseball Playoffs.
He is famous for his use of used catchphrases that have entered the everyday lexicon of American speech. Scott often emphasized great plays with an emphatic cry of “Booyah!” and it soon became is his most well known phrase.
He is survived by daughters, Taelor and Sydni.