Howard Arlen Schwab (September 17, 1960 – April 20, 2024) was an American television personality and sports researcher who worked for

ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...

in various roles from 1987 to 2013. Known for his extensive knowledge of sports trivia, he was the final adversary on the network's game show ''

Stump the Schwab ''Stump the Schwab'' is an American game show that aired on ESPN2 and ESPN Classic from July 8, 2004 to September 29, 2006. The show featured three contestants trying to defeat Howie Schwab, ESPN's first statistician, in a sports trivia contest. ...

'' (2004–2006), in which contestants tested their knowledge against his; Schwab estimated that he was victorious about 80% of the time. As a

geek The word ''geek'' is a slang term originally used to describe Eccentricity (behavior), eccentric or non-mainstream people; in current use, the word typically connotes an expert or enthusiast obsessed with a hobby or intellectual pursuit. In th ...

and non-athlete, ''

The Athletic ''The Athletic'' is a subscription-based sports journalism department of ''The New York Times''. It provides national and local coverage in 47 North American cities as well as the United Kingdom. ''The Athletic'' also covers national stories ...

'' credited him with breaking the stereotype of people seen on sports television.

Early life

Howard Arlen Schwab was born in

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

, New York City, on September 17, 1960. His father was a Holocaust survivor from Germany. Schwab grew up in Baldwin, New York, and took an intense interest in sports from childhood. A 1982 graduate of St. John's University, Schwab served as the editor-in-chief of ''College & Pro Football News Weekly'' in the mid-1980s before joining ESPN in 1987 as a researcher.

Career

By 1995, Schwab was the coordinating producer for ESPN's website. Beginning in 1998, Schwab served as a coordinating producer for ESPN studio production, which entailed duties on programs including ''

SportsCenter ''SportsCenter'' (SC) is an American television sports news broadcasting show broadcast by ESPN. Originally anchored by Chris Berman, George Grande, Greg Gumbel, Lee Leonard, Bob Ley, Sal Marchiano and Lou Palmer, it premiered on Septem ...

'' and ''

Outside the Lines ''Outside the Lines'' is an American sports news and analysis program that was broadcast by ESPN from 1990 to 2022. The series featured segments with discussions and investigative journalism surrounding prominent headlines and topics within spor ...

''. Schwab also served as the resident Couch Potato on ESPN's '' First Take'', on which he discussed and evaluated the top sports TV programming with a 1–5 bags of chips rating system. Schwab also appeared with

Merril Hoge Merril DuAine Hoge (; born January 26, 1965) is an American former professional football player who was a running back for eight seasons in the National Football League (NFL) for the Pittsburgh Steelers and Chicago Bears. He played college foot ...

and

Matthew Berry Matthew J. Berry (born December 29, 1969) is an American writer, columnist, fantasy sports analyst, and television personality. Berry started his career by writing for television and film and creating a few pilots and film scripts with his writin ...

on ''

ESPNEWS ESPNews (pronounced "ESPN News," stylized ESPNEWS) is an American multinational digital cable and satellite television network owned by ESPN Inc., a joint venture between The Walt Disney Company (which owns a controlling 80% stake) and Hear ...

Fantasy Insider''. Schwab appeared on the sports trivia show ''

'', which ran from 2004 to 2006. During the show, Schwab faced off against sports fans in a trivia contest. Schwab said that he had a 64–16 record during the show's 80 episodes. As part of cost-cutting efforts, Schwab was released from ESPN in June 2013. In 2014, Schwab joined ''

Sports Jeopardy! ''Sports Jeopardy!'' is an American television game show adapted from the quiz show ''Jeopardy!''. The show debuted on Crackle on September 24, 2014. Hosted by Dan Patrick, this version featured largely identical play to the parent program, ...

'' as a consultant and writer. He also worked regularly with

Dick Vitale Richard "Dick" John Vitale (; born June 9, 1939), also known as "Dickie V", is an American basketball sportscaster. A former head coach in the college and professional ranks, he is well known for his 41-year tenure as a college basketball broadc ...

for several years afterward. He also worked for

Fox Sports Fox Sports is the brand name for a number of sports channels, broadcast divisions, programming, and other media around the world. The name originates from Fox Broadcasting Company in the United States, which in turn derives its name from Fox Fi ...

after his tenure at ESPN.

Personal life and death

Schwab was married twice; his first wife, Jodi Singer, died in 2014, and he later married Suzie Davie. After a period of declining health, Schwab died from a heart attack at a hospital in

Aventura, Florida Aventura is a planned suburban city in northeastern Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States, north of Miami and part of the Miami metropolitan area. The city is especially known for Aventura Mall, the third largest mall in the United State ...

, on April 20, 2024, at the age of 63.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Schwab, Howie 1960 births 2024 deaths Television personalities from New York (state) American people of German-Jewish descent ESPN people Jews from New York (state) People from Baldwin, Nassau County, New York St. John's University (New York City) alumni