ESPN’s Stuart Scott loses cancer battle
By Chris Olds | Beckett Sports Card Monthly Editor
Long-time ESPN anchor Stuart Scott who helped bring personality and non-traditional approaches to broadcasting and SportsCenter lost his long-time battle with cancer on Sunday. He was 49.
“I don’t think enough people appreciate what Stuart did when he did it,” said former colleague Dan Patrick in an ESPN tribute video. “He took a lot of chances but he never wavered. So he was so committed to that style, that personality, that demeanor. He wanted to have an impact on the business. And he did.”
Among Scott’s memorable phrases in play-by-play recap were “Booyah!” and “Cooler than the other side of the pillow” — a repertoire that began on-air at ESPN in 1993.
Scott appeared on 22 different trading cards through the years (click here for a checklist or OPG) with six of those being certified autographs from Upper Deck‘s brief cardboard ties with ESPN and then an appearance in the 2010 Topps Allen & Ginter product.
In 2012, Upper Deck’s SP Signature Superstars Signatures cards paired Scott with Patrick on one card and with Linda Cohn, Kenny Mayne and Patrick on another. The dual with Patrick is the most-valuable of the bunch — of those not too rare to price — typically selling for $50 or less.
Scott’s earliest cards arrived in 2005 with autographs in 2005 SPx and Upper Deck ESPN. A total of 15 of his cards appear in the Allen & Ginter release where he was among the celebrities and “world’s champions” found alongside baseball’s best players.
Chris Olds is the editor of Beckett Baseball and Beckett Sports Card Monthly magazines. Have a comment, question or idea? Send an email to him at colds@beckett.com. Follow him on Twitter by clicking here.
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