Tributes pour in for Mark Howard as longtime NewsChannel 5 sports anchor dies aged 65

Well-known sportscaster and radio personality Mark Howard recently passed away on July 24 at the age of 65. His wife Debra revealed the news. NewsChannel 5 sports director Hope Hines paid tribute to Howard and wrote:

“My heart’s broken. I’ve lost one of my best and dearest friends. He was more like a son to me and he felt the same way, I was a father-like figure in many ways to him. I’m heartbroken for Jack his son, and Debra. He was great, great talent.”

Howard’s funeral details have not yet been revealed.

Mark Howard died on Sunday but the cause of death was not revealed at the time. His family members have also not given any statement yet regarding his cause of death.

Although NewsChannel5 reported the news of his death, they did not disclose anything about how he died. It remains unknown if Howard was facing any sort of health issues.

For now, it has been confirmed that Howard died at his home and was not hospitalized.

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Everything known about Mark Howard

Mark Howard gained recognition as a sports anchor on NewsChannel 5 when he was only 20 years old. The West Hartford, Connecticut native worked on NewsChannel 5 for 20 years.

Mark Howard worked on NewsChannel5 for a long time (Image via prnewmansr/Twitter)

He shifted to radio as the host of a local politics talk show and later returned to the field of sports as the co-host of the radio show, Wake Up Zone. The show aired on The Zone 104.5 FM and he hosted it alongside Kevin Ingram and Frank Wycheck. Ingram and Wychek quit the show in 2020. Mark also said at the time,

“It’s been a great run. The (Wake Up Zone) show ran for 16 years with me and Kevin. They were some of the best years of my life. I’ve got nothing really but good things to say about my experiences there.”

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Ingram said that Howard had a great influence on him, which brought him to The Zone. He said that he loved working with Howard and called him a great friend. He added that there was no one to support him or his career except Mark. He also mentioned:

“He was always very encouraging and gave good advice. There aren’t too many people you’ll find who were more knowledgeable about sports than Mark. It was almost scary how much he knew, especially about baseball.”

Before his death, Howard was a part-time host at The Game 102.5-FM. He was also the host of a Tennessee Titans postgame show and a co-host of the Predators pregame and postgame shows.

Howard became a familiar name among the public for his knowledge of sports and appearances on NewsChannel 5. Expectedly, Twitter was flooded with tributes when people heard about his demise:

Mark’s survivors include his wife Debra and son Jack. Detailed information on his date of birth, educational background, and parents is yet to be revealed.