Less than a year after retiring due to illness, longtime ESPN analyst Dr. Jack Ramsay has died.
Ramsay passed away Monday after a battle with cancer. He was 89. He began battling cancer in 2000 and suffered a recurrence during last year’s playoffs. Though he was able to work through cancer for many years, the most recent diagnosis forced him into immediate retirement.
After his NBA coaching career concluded in 1988, Ramsay began his broadcasting career with the 76ers before long stints with the Heat (1992-2000) and ESPN Radio (1996-2013). During his 17 years with ESPN Radio, Ramsay was an analyst for several NBA Finals, the last coming in 2012.
The broadcast team of Ramsay and play-by-play voice Jim Durham was one of the longest tenured in the league until Durham’s death in 2012. Ramsay said last May that working with Durham was his primary reason for coming back to broadcast the 2012-13 season. After Durham died, Ramsay intended to finish the season and retire, but the cancer diagnosis forced him to leave halfway through the playoffs.
(Mon. news from the Miami Herald)
