Fred Hickman, a pioneer in the sports broadcasting world, has passed away at 66. 

According to his widow Sheila Hickman, Fred died peacefully in the hospital after battling liver cancer.

“A light has gone out,” Sheila told CNN.

Fred, a sports broadcaster and anchorman, helped launch two major cable networks and influenced many upcoming sports journalists.

Fred was one of the first anchors on CNN. 

He began his broadcast career in radio, first in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, while he was in college, then at a station in his hometown of Springfield, Illinois.

He soon became an anchor, director, and reporter at WICS-TV, also in Springfield. He worked there for two years soon after college before moving to CNN.

On June 1, 1980, the network’s first day on the air, he and Nick Charles were the first hosts of “Sports Tonight,” the 11 pm ET sports news and highlights program which competed with ESPN’s “SportsCenter,” often winning the time slot.

He stayed with CNN and Turner Sports for most of the next 21 years.

In 2001, Fred moved to the YES Network, the regional sports network that airs Yankees and Brooklyn Nets games. He was the first anchor to appear on the network’s initial broadcast on March 19, 2002, and its lead anchor for the network’s first three years.

After his time at YES, he moved to ESPN in 2004, serving as a host of “SportsCenter” through 2008. He then moved on to Fox, serving as pre-and post-game host for the Atlanta Braves broadcasts on the Fox Sports South and Sport South Networks, through 2011.

Recently, he served as an anchor and managing editor at Black News Channel.
He was praised by many of his former colleagues and fans when news of his passing spread on Wednesday.

Sending condolences to Hickman family. RIP.