Memorial Celebration Set For Longtime Sports Announcer Craig Sager

BATAVIA, IL - Longtime sports reporter Craig Sager never forgot where he came from. And next week, the Batavia community will get to pay their respects and look back on the life of Sager, who was born in Batavia and died this past December at age 65 following a long battle with leukemia.

A celebration of life for Sager will be held from 6:30 to 8 p.m. on Thursday, July 13, in Batavia High School's gym, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. The memorial ceremony is free, open to the public and will include special guests and speakers as well as video highlights from the revered reporter's career.

Sager, the longtime sports announcer whose gentlemanly manner and boyish exuberance somehow mellowed the comically loud suits he became known for during his decades glowing in the public eye, was a graduate of Northwestern. Sager enjoyed a cult following of sorts during his heyday announcing for TNT and WTBS. Many Americans, though, first became aware of him as the largely unknown field reporter who rounded third base with Hank Aaron to interview the new home run king after pushing his way to the plate.

The Batavia community always loved when Sager would give a shout out to his hometown during national broadcasts, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.

“It didn’t matter if he was at the ESPYs or singing the 7th inning stretch at Wrigley Field where he yelled, ‘Let’s sing it so loud they can hear you in Batavia,’” Batavia Mayor Jeffery Schielke, a 1967 graduate of Batavia High School,told the Chicago Sun-Times. “Craig never forgot where he came from. There has always been a lot of community pride and admiration for Craig.”

Sager earned a bachelor's degree in speech at Northwestern. His broadcast career began in 1972 at WXLT in Sarasota, Florida, where he worked during Aaron's 715th home run. Sager joined CNN in 1981 and later became a 26-year staple of Turner's NBA coverage as a sideline reporter for "The NBA on TNT."

While working at Turner, he also appeared on broadcasts of football, baseball, golf and college basketball. He covered the PGA Championship, World Basketball Championships and the Olympic Games.

"Craig Sager was a beloved member of the Turner family for more than three decades and he has been a true inspiration to all of us. There will never be another Craig Sager. His incredible talent, tireless work ethic and commitment to his craft took him all over the world covering sports," according to a statement from Turner President David Levy, which was released following Sager's death.

"While he will be remembered fondly for his colorful attire and the TNT sideline interviews he conducted with NBA coaches and players, it's the determination, grace and will to live he displayed during his battle with cancer that will be his lasting impact."

His outlandish wardrobe became as much a feature of his broadcasts as the games themselves. The psychedelic garb sometimes feature plaid paired with plaid, swirls of pattern and colors that glowed with a bright tint more like those seen on neon bar signs than on hard-working reporters stalking players and coaches for nugget of news.

Sager announced in March 2016 that his leukemia was no longer in remission and that doctors gave him three to six months to live. He died on Dec. 15, 2016, according to his obituary.

He was "loaned" to ESPN for Game 6 of this year's NBA finals, where his sideline reporting for the game between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Golden State Warriors became his last appearance on TV covering a sporting event.

Later in July, he was awarded the Jimmy V Perseverance Award at the 2016 ESPY Awards.

Sager is survived by his wife, Stacy, a former Chicago Bulls dancer, according to his obituary. He had five children: Kacy, Craig Jr., Krista, Riley and Ryan.

Todd Richissin contributed to this article

Image via Keith Allison, Flickr, used under Creative Commons