John Sanders, former KDKA-TV sports director
June 10, 2026KDKA-TV reported the death of former sports director John Sanders a week after his 83rd birthday. Sanders came to Pittsburgh from his roots in Kansas and Missouri in 1978 to anchor the weekend sports at KD eventually becoming sports director. In 1980 he joined Lanny Frattare in the Pittsburgh Pirates broadcast booth and remained a part of the team for 9 years. Sanders left Pittsburgh for Cleveland in 1991
I remember Sanders with Rick Manning on Indians Telecasts. He was very good as a play-by-play man but not especially flashy. Prayers to family, friends and former colleagues..
I worked as a graphic designer at KDKA from around 1980 until 1998, and John was the sports director for much of that time. We both lived in Mt. Lebanon and he would occasionally give me a ride home in his vintage dark blue Mustang. He was the slowest driver in the world, but a heckuva nice guy, to me at least.