Craig Sager, who made multi-colored outfits look fashionable on TV and finally cashed in on his yearly bet on his beloved Chicago Cubs winning the World Series, died of leukemia at his home in Canton on Thursday afternoon. He was 65.
A longtime basketball broadcaster for TNT and TBS, Sager’s battle with cancer became a national one as he gave a passionate speech about his life on ESPN after winning the Jimmy V Perseverance Award at the ESPY’s in July.
Wearing another of his infamous wild-looking sports jackets, standing beside vice president Joe Biden and wiping away tears in front of his family and millions of viewers, Sager talked about how he had changed since his diagnosis.
“Time,’’ he said, “is something that cannot be bought. It cannot be wagered with God, and it is not in endless supply. Time is simply how you live your life.”
Sager battled hard against the disease, having been told in April 2014 that he had acute myeloid leukemia. Going immediately into treatment, he missed the NBA playoffs. While sitting in a hospital bed, he watched his son, Craig Jr., fill in for him during a playoff game and do an interview with Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, who sent a get-well message to his friend.
It was Craig Jr. who helped save his father’s life as he was a bone-marrow transplant match and gave him the marrow which initially pushed him into remission. Sager Sr. went back to work and was celebrated on NBA courts across the country, but by March 2016 the leukemia had returned.
While receiving treatment at the MD Anderson Cancer Clinic in Houston, the Batavia, Illinois, native threw out the first pitch in a game at Wrigley Field this past season and finally collected on a $1,000 bet he had been making every year since 1981 on the Cubs to win it all.
Sager also spent time with his son writing a book called “Living Out Loud,’’ that just recently was published. The forward was written by good friend and Hall of Fame basketball player Charles Barkley, who wrote about Sager: “His passion for basketball and for sports in general is unmatched. The guy just loves being at sporting events. Listen, if a guy was his school’s mascot, you have to believe he has an underlying passion for sports.’’
Sager was a graduate of Northwestern University, spending a year as Willie the Wildcat, the school’s mascot. He began his broadcasting career doing spring training and preseason games for the Royals and Chiefs. He got his break when he was working for a TV station in Sarasota after talking his sports director into sending him to Atlanta to see Hank Aaron break Babe Ruth’s home run record. Wearing a long white overcoat, Sager bolted onto the field as Aaron was reaching home plate and quickly interviewed the new home run king as the historic moment and the celebration unfolded.
Sager joined CNN full-time in 1981, beginning his career with Turner Sports and covered multiple sports including the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville, France and 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. Last year was his 20th season as the sideline reporter for TNT’s Thursday night NBA doubleheader and while it may be basketball that he will be most remembered for, he battled with everything he had against the cancer that eventually took his life, writing in the introduction of his book, “I have savored every ounce of sunshine, of sea breeze, of buffalo shrimp, of private moments with my bride and children.
He ended the book with the sarcastic but dry tone that made him popular, saying, “Oh, and by the way, my first pitch at the Chicago Cubs game in June? High and wide, but made it sixty feet, six inches.’’
Sager is survived by his wife, Stacy, and his children, Casey, Craig Jr., Kristin, Riley and Ryan.
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