{"id":2236010,"date":"2024-05-02T21:22:02","date_gmt":"2024-05-03T01:22:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/howie-schwab-1960-2024\/"},"modified":"2024-05-02T21:26:08","modified_gmt":"2024-05-03T01:26:08","slug":"howie-schwab-1960-2024","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/howie-schwab-1960-2024\/","title":{"rendered":"Howie Schwab: 1960-2024"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">6<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fhowie-schwab-1960-2024%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2236010&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The late Howie Schwab,\u2064 a sports trivia savant and ESPN&#8217;s esteemed sports researcher, passed away at\u2064 the age of\u200d 63 in \u200dAventura, Florida. Born in Brooklyn\u200d in 1960, \u2064Schwab&#8217;s memory prowess and passion for sports led him to a successful career at ESPN, where his encyclopedic knowledge shaped the network&#8217;s success, making him an indispensable asset in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/legendary-announcer-al-michaels-unexpectedly-dropped-from-nfl-playoff-broadcast-report\/\" title=\"Al Michaels, iconic announcer, reportedly removed from NFL playoff broadcast\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/legendary-nba-announcer-marv-albert-to-retire-at-the-conclusion-of-the-2021-nba-eastern-conference-finals\/\" title=\"Legendary NBA Announcer Marv Albert To Retire At The Conclusion Of The 2021 NBA Eastern Conference Finals\">sports broadcasting<\/a> world<\/a>. The beloved Howie Schwab, renowned for his sports trivia \u2064mastery and role as \u200bESPN&#8217;s respected sports researcher, sadly passed away at 63 in Aventura, Florida. Hailing from Brooklyn in 1960, \u200cSchwab&#8217;s exceptional memory and\u200c love for sports propelled him to a fruitful tenure at ESPN, \u200dcementing his\u2062 legacy as a pivotal figure in sports broadcasting.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Do you know who hit the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/magazine\/1173085\/home-run\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>most home runs<\/a> in 1962? Or who won the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/nba\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>NBA title<\/a> in 1979? Or who led the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/nfl\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>NFL<\/a> in rushing in 2003? There was a man who knew the answers to all these questions \u2014 and who could even tell you every fact of that NFL rushing leader\u2019s career, from where he went to college to how many teams he played for to what <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/pelosi-tweets-wrong-photo-of-black-baseball-player-in-failed-attempt-to-wish-willie-mays-happy-birthday\/\" title=\"Pelosi Tweets Wrong Photo Of Black Baseball Player In Failed Attempt To Wish Willie Mays Happy Birthday\">jersey number<\/a> he wore to what he had had for breakfast that morning. Well, maybe not that last one, but if he had happened to know that too, it wouldn\u2019t have surprised us. That\u2019s because this man was Howie Schwab, the human sports almanac who was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/espn\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>ESPN<\/a>\u2019s leading sports researcher for over 20 years and the star of the network\u2019s hit sports trivia show \u201cStump the Schwab.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Schwab, who died this past week in Aventura, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/florida\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Florida<\/a>, at 63, was born in Brooklyn on Sept. 17, 1960, and was raised on Long Island. Young Howie was not gifted athletically, but those who knew him claim that he was blessed with a photographic memory. He found an outlet for his <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/sports\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>sports <\/a>fandom in numbers \u2014 and in helping other sports fans make sense of them. <\/p>\n<figure><figcaption>Howie Schwab (John Shearer\/WireImage)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>A graduate of St. John\u2019s University (where I teach), while earning his degree in athletic administration, Schwab wrote for the school\u2019s student newspaper, the <em>Torch<\/em>. Schwab was the first writer anywhere to report that the highly sought-after high school college basketball prospect Chris Mullin was committing to St. John\u2019s, to the chagrin of Johnnies\u2019 coach Lou Carnesecca, who had wanted the news to remain under wraps until it was 100% certain. Mullin did indeed suit up for the Red Storm, and from there went on to play for the fabled 1992 Dream Team and later earned a place in the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/massachusetts\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Massachusetts<\/a> (my birthplace).<\/p>\n<p>Schwab\u2019s post-St. John\u2019s career also proved to be illustrious, though his success in the field of sports was not as predictable as Mullin\u2019s. Schwab worked for <em>College &#038; Pro Football Newsweekly<\/em> from 1982 to 1987, serving as its editor in chief during his final years at the magazine. After joining ESPN as a freelance researcher in 1987, Schwab quickly rose up the ranks, becoming the sports conglomerate\u2019s head researcher by 1991. Schwab\u2019s encyclopedic sports knowledge was so helpful to the network (especially in the pre-internet era) that major ESPN personalities like Dan Patrick and Keith Olbermann avowed that ESPN would not have become ESPN without him. <\/p>\n<p>Schwab emerged from the research room when the network asked him to appear on a sports trivia show in 2004. Although sports trivia has been a favorite pastime of sports fans for as long as sports themselves have been around, and although sports trivia night has long been a proven draw for bars everywhere, putting a sports trivia show on TV was not an easy sell. At least not one built around Howie Schwab, who looked more like the guy you\u2019d see in line for a refill of his nachos at the Mets game than someone born to be in front of the camera. <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><strong>CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>But paired with the show\u2019s host, Stuart Scott, the exuberant ESPN anchor who sadly died at 49 in 2015, and matched with three different contestants each episode, the show became a surprise hit. Even though Schwab was the sports version of <em>The Simpsons\u2019s<\/em> Comic Book Guy, not just in looks but often also in demeanor, Scott\u2019s warmth and affability tempered Schwab\u2019s intimidating frostiness, making for an unexpectedly enjoyable viewing experience. Sports fans like myself tuned in each time not just for the sports trivia but also to see how Scott and Schwab would play off one another (and also to see which vintage sports jersey Schwab would be wearing that show, a trademark of his that I loved for how it honored the great players of the past). The experience may not have been as fun, though, for the show\u2019s contestants; going up against \u201cthe Schwab\u201d in sports trivia was like playing the computer in chess. <\/p>\n<p>I\u2019m sure someone did actually stump him at least once, but if so, I can\u2019t remember. And I\u2019d bet that no other sports fans can remember it either. For anyone who knew him, even if it was only from TV, I\u2019m sure that that\u2019s how Howie Schwab would like to be remembered: as our generation\u2019s one true unstumpable (and surprisingly lovable) sports know-it-all. <\/p>\n<p><em>Daniel Ross Goodman is a <\/em>Washington Examiner <em>contributing writer and a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard Divinity School. His latest book, <\/em>Soloveitchik\u2019s Children: Irving Greenberg, David Hartman, Jonathan Sacks, and the Future of Jewish Theology in America<em>, was published last summer by the University of Alabama Press.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Meet a walking sports encyclopedia who could answer trivia like: the 1962 home run leader, 1979 NBA champion, and 2003 NFL rushing champ. This man held a wealth of sports knowledge, from historical stats to career highlights<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2854,"featured_media":2236011,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/wex-s3.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Obit-1024x591.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[538],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2236010","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-washington-examiner"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/wex-s3.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Obit-1024x591.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2236010","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2854"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2236010"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2236010\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2236011"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2236010"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2236010"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2236010"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}