Stuart Scott, the man credited with ushering in a new generation of ESPN viewers, has passed away at 49.

According to reports from ESPN, the long-time “SportsCenter” anchor, passed away early this morning (Jan. 4) after a long battle with cancer.

Stuart Scott was born in Chicago, IL,  but was raised in North Carolina. While studying speech communication at The University of North Carolina, Scott joined Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. and played wide receiver and defensive back for the club football team.

He came to ESPN in 1993 to work on “SportsSmash,” a late-night ESPN2 sports highlights broadcast. Even at that early point in his career, his energy and unique delivery, heavily influenced by hip-hop culture, carried him to the peak of fame.

“He was a trailblazer,” says ESPN anchor Stan Verrett, “not only because he was black — obviously black — but because of his style, his demeanor, his presentation. He did not shy away from the fact that he was a black man, and that allowed the rest of us who came along to just be ourselves.”

There were many times where Scott was approached by his peers and supervisors in attempts to make his delivery more conservative. But his “Boo-Yah!” and references to being “as cool as the other side of the pillow” became trademarks that could not be ignored.

“When he went to ESPN, Stuart didn’t change his style — and there was some resistance,”Suzy Kolber, a fellow ESPN Anchor, says. “Even I encouraged him to maybe take a more traditional approach, but he had a strong conviction about who he wanted to be, and the voice he wanted to project, and clearly, he was right, and we were wrong.”

Over the years, Stuart Scott became a daily staple in American households as he brought “SportsCenter” to life and covered the NBA Finals, MLB playoffs, Final Four and much more. He had inspiring sit-downs with Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods, President Barack Obama and many more athletes, who were all secretly fans.

Scott was first diagnosed with cancer in 2007, he went into chemotherapy treatment that same year.

During his treatment, Stuart Scott became a shining light of inspiration for those battling cancer, and other ailments. He would often go through intense martial arts training the same day he would go through chemotherapy treatments. It’s even said the he was in some of the best shape of his life while he battled cancer three times from 2007 to 2015.

Co-workers that encountered Scott at the ESPN campus have been filing in with nothing but amazing stories that speak to his character. One of the most touching comes from Sage Steele.

“The moving trucks were at my house,” said Steele “And Stuart was there with his girlfriend Kristin to say goodbye to us, and my 10-year-old son Nicholas had to say goodbye to his best friend across the street, and he came back sobbing, sobbing, leaving his best friend in the world… Stuart said, ‘I got it.’ And he took Nicholas aside and just sat down with him and described his moving away as a kid, losing his best friend as a 10-year-old boy and how he handled it. He spent 20 minutes sitting there with Nicholas, helping him feel better.”

“Stuart spent three hours at our house that day, in pain and hardly able to stand, but he did it,” continued Steele. “And he sat there for my kid.”

Stuart Scott leaves behind two daughters, Taelor, 19, and Sydni, 15, which he made obvious that he cherished more than anything in the world, whenever possible.

Just this past July, Stuart Scott was awarded the Jimmy V Perseverance Award at the 2014 ESPYs. During his acceptance speech, he delivered this gem of wisdom and inspiration.

“When you die, it does not mean that you lose to cancer,” Scott said. “You beat cancer by how you live, why you live, and in the manner in which you live.”