Al Sanders (March 13, 1941 - May 5, 1995) was an American television news anchorman at WJZ-TV in Baltimore, Maryland. He helped take a third place television newscast to first place, where it stayed throughout his career.
Background
In 1967 Sanders, as Al Gay, worked for radio station KXLW, in St. Louis, Missouri. In 1969, he left for competitor
KXFN, where he adopted the name Al Sanders, the on-air alias that would follow him through the rest of his career.
Sanders joined WJZ-TV in 1972. Five years later, he would replace
Oprah Winfrey as Jerry Turner's co-anchor.
Turner and Sanders were Baltimore's top news team until 1987, when Turner succumbed to esophageal cancer. Denise Koch joined Sanders on the anchor desk as a fill-in, gaining the role permanently in 1988. Sanders won
in 1993 and 1994 for his regularly featured specialty report, "Picture This."
In March 1995, Sanders was diagnosed with complications from
lung cancer. Sanders died at the Johns Hopkins Hospital on May 5, 1995, and was replaced by
Vic Carter, formerly of
WSB-TV in Atlanta., who retired in July of 2024. Al Sanders was just 54 years old when he died and on May 5th, 1995, had just marked the 30th Anniversary since his passing of Complications from Lung Cancer and he would have turned 84 years old on his birthday that day.
Legacy
Each year, the Baltimore Community Foundation awards college scholarships in the name of Al Sanders for those students who are musically inclined.
In Baltimore, the corner of Druid Park Drive and Malden Avenue, two blocks from WJZ-TV, was named Al Sanders Place. The adjoining block of Malden Avenue is named Jerry Turner Way, for his former broadcasting partner.
External links
