Longtime ESPN Sportscaster John Saunders Dead At 61

January 11, 2016: ABC/ESPN host John Saunders on the set of the ESPN Championship Drive stadium show prior the College Football Playoff National Championship game between the Alabama Crimson Tide and the Clemson Ti... January 11, 2016: ABC/ESPN host John Saunders on the set of the ESPN Championship Drive stadium show prior the College Football Playoff National Championship game between the Alabama Crimson Tide and the Clemson Tigers at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, AZ. (Photo by Chris Williams/Icon Sportswire) (Icon Sportswire via AP Images) MORE LESS
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ESPN sportscaster John Saunders, who has hosted “The Sports Reporters” for the last 15 years, has died, the network announced. He was 61.

Saunders joined ESPN in 1986. He did play-by-play on various sports, hosted NHL Stanley Cup Final coverage and World Series coverage and hosted studio shows for baseball, college football and college basketball.

A cause of death was not announced.

Saunders was also a founding member of the board of directors for The V Foundation for Cancer Research, a charity started by the network after former college basketball coach and ESPN announcer Jim Valvano died of cancer in 1993.

Saunders was born in Ontario, Canada, and played hockey at Western Michigan University from 1974-76.

He lived in Hastings-on-Hudson, New York, with his wife, Wanda. They had two daughters.

Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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