Howie Schwab, a longtime ESPN producer and statistician, passed away at the age of 63. He was best known as the star of the network’s popular “Stump the Schwab” game show from the 2000s. Schwab’s death was acknowledged on ESPN’s “SportsCenter” with a tribute, and ESPN college basketball analyst Dick Vitale also shared the news on social media. Vitale mentioned that Schwab had been dealing with “various health issues” but had been feeling good recently.
Schwab spent most of his career at ESPN behind the scenes after joining the company in 1987. In 2004, he became the face of “Stump the Schwab,” a sports trivia game show hosted by the late Stuart Scott. Contestants competed against each other and then tried to defeat Schwab in a final challenge. Schwab’s extensive knowledge of sports from all eras quickly made him a respected authority on the show. “Stump the Schwab” ran for four seasons, concluding in 2006.
In addition to his work on “Stump the Schwab,” Howie Schwab also made appearances on ESPN’s “First Take,” where he rated his anticipation of upcoming sporting events on a unique “Bags of Chips” scale. ESPN ended its association with Schwab in 2013, and he later joined Fox Sports as a writer and consultant for “Sports Jeopardy!”