During Monday night’s Eagles-Cowboys broadcast from Lincoln Financial Field, ESPN announcers Joe Buck and Troy Aikman set aside the game to remember David Moulton, a longtime colleague who died at 60 after a six-year fight with stage four renal cell cancer. His wife announced his death on Saturday.
The network aired a clip of Moulton in the booth dressed as Sulley from “Monsters Inc.” before Buck addressed viewers directly.
“Well, this group lost a dear friend and coworker this week. Our buddy David Moulton passed away at the age of 60,” Buck said. “He was my right hand man for those years at Fox covering golf, and Troy, he was your right hand man for all these years in the booth doing NFL coverage. We loved him. We are sending our very best to his wife Julie, his daughter Melissa and her husband Sean and their two kids. The entire family. He helped Gary Danielson along the way. He just was so brilliant and just effortless in the way he would give us information, give you information, during the game. He will not be replaced.”
Aikman grew visibly emotional before responding.
“No, he will not. He was a fighter right up until the end and … sorry…” Aikman said, choking up. “He left a hole in a lot of people’s hearts and just a good man.”
Moulton had worked alongside Aikman and Buck on ESPN’s “Monday Night Football” coverage for several years. Before that, he served as a spotter for the pair during Fox’s NFL coverage on Thursdays and Sundays, and he held the same role for CBS’s SEC broadcasts with announcer Gary Danielson. He had stepped away from his “Miller and Moulton” radio show with Mark Miller in August as his health declined.
Buck closed the tribute by mentioning Moulton’s grandchildren.
“He is missed up here and well said,” Buck told Aikman. “They don’t come any tougher than David Moulton and what he’s been through the last couple years. His grandkids Oakland and Reese were the apples of his eye, so we are sending all our love to the Moulton family.”
A day earlier, Fox play-by-play voice Kevin Burkhardt had announced Moulton’s death while calling the Lions-Packers game.
“Just a guy that everyone around him loved,” Burkhardt said. “Gone too soon. David Moulton, you will be missed my friend.”
Aikman also posted a tribute to Moulton on Instagram earlier Monday.
“Since 2018, David Moulton has been my right-hand man in the broadcast booth. What started as a professional relationship became a friendship I have cherished,” Aikman wrote. “David was loyal, dependable and a warrior until the very end. He deserved better. My heart breaks for his family and all who loved him. I’m grateful for the years we shared and will miss him deeply. Rest in peace big guy.”
