Stan Savran, Revered Pittsburgh Sports Broadcaster, Dies At 76

PITTSBURGH, PA — Pittsburgh is mourning a pillar of the local sports broadcasting community today. Stan Savran, who provided insights on the city's sports team's for nearly a half-century, died Monday.

Savran was 76. He had been battling lung cancer, and in his last social media post in April announced that his right foot had to be amputated because of his ongoing health problems.

The Cleveland native came to Pittsburgh in 1976, as the Steelers were winning the first of their six Super Bowls. He initially worked at WWSW-AM and then the former KQV. He then spent a decade at WTAE-TV and also hosted a talk show on the former WTAE-AM.

But Savran was best known for the nightly cable show “SportsBeat” he co-hosted with Guy Junker from 1991-2009. Callers to the program often began their conversation with the hosts by saying, "Stan, Guy, love the show" - a phrase that endured long after the show ended.

Savran also was a sports anchor for WPGH-TV. He has hosted intermission segments for Pittsburgh Penguins broadcasts on AT&T Sportsnet Pittsburgh and also wrote a weekly sports column for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette for several years.

Most recently, he had hosted a weekday talk show on 970 ESPN.

Tributes to Savran flooded social media after his death was announced Monday evening.

He was "Not just a Pittsburgh media icon but a Pittsburgh icon, period," stated Mark Madden, who hosts a weekday sports talk show on 105.9 The X. "A good friend, true peer and thoroughly good man. It’s a honor to have known and worked with him."

"Stan Savran was a legend," KDKA-TV sports anchor Rich Walsh posted. "A true professional but more importantly a great person. Stan was a mentor and a good friend. I’ll miss him dearly."

Funeral arrangements were not immediately available Tuesday morning.