The National Sports Media Association (NSMA), formerly the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association, is an organization of

sports media Sports journalism is a form of writing that reports on matters pertaining to sporting topics and competitions. Sports journalism started in the early 1800s when it was targeted to the social elite and transitioned into an integral part of the n ...

members in the United States, and constitutes the American chapter of the International Sports Press Association (AIPS).

Winston-Salem, North Carolina Winston-Salem is a city and the county seat of Forsyth County, North Carolina, United States. In the 2020 census, the population was 249,545, making it the second-largest municipality in the Piedmont Triad region, the 5th most populous city in ...

now serves as the headquarters for the NSMA, which is responsible for the organizing and counting of all the ballots for the National, State (50 states plus D.C.), and Hall of Fame winners. The organization had been based in Salisbury, North Carolina until 2017. There are now more than 100 inductees in the Hall of Fame. The organization plans and funds the Annual Awards Program. Former television sportscaster Dave Goren serves as the NSMA's executive director.

History

The National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association (NSSA) was formed in 1959 by a local restaurant owner, Pete DiMizio, to honor regional sportscasters and

sportswriters Sports journalism is a form of writing that reports on matters pertaining to sporting topics and competitions. Sports journalism started in the early 1800s when it was targeted to the social elite and transitioned into an integral part of the n ...

whom he had met at the Greensboro Open Golf Tournament in

Greensboro, North Carolina Greensboro (; formerly Greensborough) is a city in and the county seat of Guilford County, North Carolina, United States. It is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, third-most populous city in North Carolina after Charlotte, North Car ...

. When DiMizio died, Dr. Ed McKenzie took over the leadership role and guided it through the expansion to a national association. Its first Annual Awards Program was held in Salisbury, North Carolina, on April 12, 1960.

Lindsey Nelson Lindsey Nelson (May 25, 1919 – June 10, 1995) was an American sportscaster best known for his long career calling play-by-play of college football and New York Mets baseball. Nelson spent 17 years with the Mets and three years with the San F ...

was selected the 1959 National Sportscaster of the Year and Red Smith was voted the 1959 Sportswriter of the Year. In 1962

Grantland Rice Henry Grantland "Granny" Rice (November 1, 1880July 13, 1954) was an early 20th-century American sportswriter known for his elegant prose. His writing was published in newspapers around the country and broadcast on the radio. Early years Rice wa ...

was selected as the first Hall of Fame inductee. As Red Smith inducted Rice into the Hall of Fame, he said, "Who knows what will become of this Hall of Fame? It might never be heard from again. No matter, it cannot be improved, for it is perfect tonight with only Granny enshrined." In April 1990, the NSSA celebrated its 31st Annual Awards Program, with

Chris Berman Christopher James Berman (born May 10, 1955), nicknamed "Boomer", is an American sportscaster. He has been an anchor for ''SportsCenter'' on ESPN since 1979, joining a month after its initial launch, and hosted the network's '' Sunday NFL Count ...

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). Th ...

being selected as Sportscaster of the Year and

Peter Gammons Peter Gammons (born April 9, 1945) is an American sportswriter, media personality, and musician. He is a recipient of the J. G. Taylor Spink Award for outstanding baseball writing, given by the Baseball Writers' Association of America. Early ...

receiving the honor as Sportswriter of the Year. The Hall of Fame inductees were Dave Anderson, Pulitzer Prize winner from ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'', and

Jack Buck John Francis "Jack" Buck (August 21, 1924 – June 18, 2002) was an American sportscaster, best known for his work announcing Major League Baseball games of the St. Louis Cardinals. His play-by-play work earned him recognition from numerous hal ...

, the long-time radio voice of the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...

and a radio and television sportscaster for

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

. Though located in Salisbury, "the NSSA office itself has bounced around town like a ping-pong ball." The Hall of Fame opened officially on May 1, 2000 in the two-story, 10,000-square-foot former North Carolina Federal Savings and Loan building at 322 East Innes Street in Salisbury. When Claude Hampton became NSSA director, he was told the Hall of Fame was nothing more than a desk drawer with folders in the Chamber of Commerce building. He wanted an actual building and considered

Catawba College Catawba College is a private college in Salisbury, North Carolina. Founded in 1851 by the North Carolina Classis of the Reformed Church in Newton, the college adopted its name from its county of origin, Catawba County, before moving to its cu ...

as a location, but when he saw the branch of the failed bank in 1990, he made an offer which was accepted. The goal was to open the museum by 1992. A 23-foot sculpture of two

eagle Eagle is the common name for many large birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of genera, some of which are closely related. Most of the 68 species of eagle are from Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, j ...

s was moved from the bank to

Charlotte Motor Speedway Charlotte Motor Speedway (previously known as Lowe's Motor Speedway from 1999 to 2009) is a motorsport complex located in Concord, North Carolina, outside Charlotte. The complex features a quad oval track that hosts NASCAR racing includin ...

, but people wanted the eagles back, so they were returned and local people donated their services to put the eagles back and get the building ready. An opening reception and dedication took place in 1991. But due to lack of funding, it took ten years for the building to actually open. Until then, hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of memorabilia were stored in boxes. With the Hall of Fame open, visitors could hear

Babe Ruth George Herman "Babe" Ruth Jr. (February 6, 1895 – August 16, 1948) was an American professional baseball player whose career in Major League Baseball (MLB) spanned 22 seasons, from 1914 through 1935. Nicknamed "the Bambino" and "the Su ...

's called shot,

Hank Aaron Henry Louis Aaron (February 5, 1934 – January 22, 2021), nicknamed "Hammer" or "Hammerin' Hank", was an American professional baseball right fielder who played 23 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), from 1954 through 1976. One of the gre ...

's 715th home run, the Ice Bowl, the 1992 Duke-Kentucky game, and young

Tiger Woods Eldrick Tont "Tiger" Woods (born December 30, 1975) is an American professional golfer. He is tied for first in PGA Tour wins, ranks second in men's major championships, and holds numerous golf records. * * * Woods is widely regarded as ...

on ''

The Mike Douglas Show ''The Mike Douglas Show'' was an American daytime television talk show that was hosted by Mike Douglas. It began as a local program in Cleveland before being carried on other stations owned by Westinghouse Broadcasting. The show went into natio ...

''. On November 1, 2005, Community Bank of Rowan (later part of Yadkin Financial) purchased the Innes Street location, opening its headquarters there in 2006. This required the NSSA to move to a temporary location on North Main Street in Salisbury, but visitors would not be allowed. Veteran sports journalist Dave Goren, best known as sports director at

WXII-TV WXII-TV (channel 12) is a television station licensed to Winston-Salem, North Carolina, United States, serving the Piedmont Triad region as an affiliate of NBC. It is owned by Hearst Television alongside Lexington-licensed CW affiliate WCWG (c ...

, became NSSA executive director September 1, 2009. On December 1 of that year, the NSSA held a reception at its new office in 1,900 square feet at 325 Lee Street in Salisbury. The warehouse only included a few items such as shoes autographed by

Ralph Sampson Ralph Lee Sampson Jr. (born July 7, 1960) is an American former professional basketball player. He is a member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. A phenom, three-time college national player of the year, and first overall selec ...

and a football signed by Berman; the rest remained in storage. The NSSA has since moved to Summit Avenue in Salisbury, on the campus of Catawba College. At the 54th annual program in June 2013, Dan Patrick of ESPN Radio received the award as Sportscaster of the Year with Peter King of

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence twi ...

honored as Sportswriter of the Year. The Hall of Fame inductees were

Mitch Albom Mitchell David Albom (born May 23, 1958) is an American author, journalist, and musician. His books have sold over 40 million copies worldwide. Having achieved national recognition for sports writing in his early career, he turned to writing the ...

and

Dick Vitale Richard John Vitale (; born June 9, 1939), also known as "Dickie V", is an American basketball sportscaster. A former head coach in the college and professional ranks, he is well known for his 41-year tenure as a college basketball broadcaster f ...

. In June 2014, hockey broadcaster Mike "Doc" Emrick was voted Sportscaster of the Year, with King repeating as Sportswriter of the Year. Inducted in the Hall of Fame were sportscaster

Marv Albert Marv Albert (born Marvin Philip Aufrichtig; June 12, 1941) is an American retired sportscaster. Honored for his work as a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame, he was commonly referred to as "the voice of basketball". From 1967 to 2004, he wa ...

and sportswriter

Rick Reilly Richard Paul Reilly (born February 3, 1958) is an American sportswriter. Long known for being the "back page" columnist for ''Sports Illustrated'', Reilly moved to ESPN on June 1, 2008, where he was a featured columnist for ESPN.com and wrote t ...

. Emrick and writer

Tom Verducci Thomas Verducci (born October 23, 1960) is an American sportswriter who writes for ''Sports Illustrated'' and its online magazine SI.com. He writes primarily about baseball. He is also a reporter and commentator for Fox Major League Baseball and ...

were the national award winners honored on June 8, 2015. Four new NSSA Hall of Fame members were inducted: baseball writer

Hal McCoy Harold Stanley "Hal" McCoy Jr. (born October 18, 1940 in Akron, Ohio) is an American sportswriter. McCoy was a beat writer for the '' Dayton Daily News'' ( Dayton, Ohio), covering the Cincinnati Reds baseball team. He still covers all Reds home ga ...

, basketball commentator

Bill Raftery William Joseph Raftery (born April 19, 1943) is an American basketball analyst and former college basketball coach. High school and college years Raftery attended Saint Cecilia High School in Kearny, New Jersey, where he starred in basketball an ...

, sportswriter and sportscaster Lesley Visser and, posthumously, author, journalist and television personality

Dick Schaap Richard Jay Schaap (September 27, 1934 – December 21, 2001) was an American sportswriter, broadcaster, and author. Early life and education Born to a Jewish family in Brooklyn, and raised in Freeport, New York, on Long Island, Schaap began wri ...

. In April 2017, after 57 years in Salisbury, the National Sports Media Association moved to

Organization

The NSSA is the only national organization which brings together the two crafts of sportscasting and sportswriting. There are approximately 1,100 dues-paying members. The Sportscasters and Sportswriters Foundation Board is made up of individuals in Salisbury, North Carolina, as well as the current national board president, who feel that sports in the United States are important. The Sportscasters and Sportswriters themselves have a Board of Directors. In addition, The Hall of Fame, Inc. has been set up as the educational arm of the NSSA, and it has tax-exempt status granted by the Internal Revenue Service.

Paul "Bear" Bryant Award

The

Paul "Bear" Bryant Award The American Heart Association (AHA) Paul "Bear" Bryant Awards are an annual awards banquet that is hosted each year in January, in Houston, Texas, by the AHA.For a list of American Heart Association offices, by state, go to: There are two aw ...

is an award that has been given annually since 1986 to

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

college football's national

coach of the year Many sports leagues, sportswriting associations, and other organizations confer "Coach of the Year" awards. In some sports — including baseball and association football — the award is called the "Manager of the Year" award. Some of the ...

. The Award was named in honor of longtime Alabama coach Bear Bryant after he died of a heart attack in 1983. It is voted on by the NSMA, and proceeds from the awards ceremony benefit the American Heart Association. The College Football Coach of the Year Award began in 1957 and was renamed for Bryant in 1986. Bryant himself won the AFCA Coach of the Year award in 1961, 1971, and 1973. According to the official website:

The Paul "Bear" Bryant College Football Coaching Award ceremony is an exclusive event that honors a college football coach whose great accomplishments, both on and off the field, are legendary. The award recognizes the masters of coaching and allows them to take their deserved place in history beside other legends like Bear Bryant.

Clarence "Big House" Gaines Awards

The NSMA established the Clarence "Big House" Gaines College Basketball Coach of the Year Awards in 2010, with the first presentation occurring in 2011. The awards are presented to two head coaches – one in

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest level of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athletic ...

and one in Division II – at the annual NSMA awards banquet. The purpose of the award is to recognize coaches who might not receive recognition from "mainstream outlets." An NSMA committee votes after the end of the men's and women's championship tournaments. The award is named for

Clarence Gaines Clarence Edward "Big House" Gaines Sr. (May 21, 1923 – April 18, 2005) was an American college men's basketball coach with a 47-year coaching career at Winston-Salem State University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Among his numerous honors fo ...

, the former head coach of

Winston-Salem State University Winston-Salem State University (WSSU) is a historically black public university in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. It is part of the University of North Carolina. History Winston-Salem State University was founded as Slater Industrial Academy o ...

National Sportscaster of the Year

*For list of winners, see footnoteFor each year's National Sportscaster and National Sportswriter, go to th
National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association website
click on "Awards" and then "National Awards". The list of "National Sportswriters" is below the list of "National Sportscasters." NSSA website. Retrieved 2017-01-04. *1959 –

(

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

) *1960 – Lindsey Nelson (NBC) *1961 – Lindsey Nelson (NBC) *1962 – Lindsey Nelson (NBC) *1963 – Chris Schenkel (

) *1964 – Chris Schenkel (CBS) *1965 –

Vin Scully Vincent Edward Scully (November 29, 1927 – August 2, 2022) was an American sportscaster. He was best known for his 67 seasons calling games for Major League Baseball's Los Angeles Dodgers, beginning in 1950 (when the franchise was located ...

( L. A. Dodgers) *1966 –

Curt Gowdy Curtis Edward Gowdy (July 31, 1919 – February 20, 2006) was an American sportscaster. He called Boston Red Sox games on radio and TV for 15 years, and then covered many nationally televised sporting events, primarily for NBC Sports and ABC S ...

(NBC) *1967 – Chris Schenkel ( ABC) *1968 – Ray Scott (CBS) *1969 – Curt Gowdy (NBC) *1970 – Chris Schenkel (ABC) *1971 – Ray Scott (CBS) *1972 – Keith Jackson (ABC) *1973 – Keith Jackson (ABC) *1974 – Keith Jackson (ABC) *1975 – Keith Jackson (ABC) *1976 – Keith Jackson (ABC) *1977 –

Pat Summerall George Allen "Pat" Summerall (May 10, 1930 – April 16, 2013) was an American football player and television sportscaster who worked for CBS, Fox, and ESPN. In addition to football, he announced major golf and tennis events. Summerall announ ...

(CBS) *1978 – Vin Scully (L.A. Dodgers, CBS) *1979 –

Dick Enberg Richard Alan Enberg (January 9, 1935 – December 21, 2017) was an American sportscaster. Over the course of an approximately 60-year career, he provided play-by-play of various sports for several radio and television networks, including N ...

(NBC) *1980 – Dick Enberg (NBC) and

Al Michaels Alan Richard Michaels (born November 12, 1944) is an American television sportscaster currently working as the play-by-play announcer for '' Thursday Night Football'' on Prime Video and in an emeritus role for NBC Sports. He has worked on n ...

(ABC) *1981 – Dick Enberg (NBC) *1982 – Vin Scully (L.A. Dodgers, CBS) *1983 – Al Michaels (ABC) *1984 –

John Madden John Earl Madden (April 10, 1936 – December 28, 2021) was an American football coach and sports commentator in the National Football League (NFL). He served as the head coach of the Oakland Raiders from 1969 to 1978, who he led to eight pl ...

(CBS) *1985 –

Bob Costas Robert Quinlan Costas (born March 22, 1952) is an American sportscaster who is known for his long tenure with NBC Sports, from 1980 through 2019. He has received 28 Emmy awards for his work and was the prime-time host of 12 Olympic Games from 19 ...

(NBC) *1986 – Al Michaels (ABC) *1987 – Bob Costas (NBC) *1988 – Bob Costas (NBC) *1989 –

(

) *1990 – Chris Berman (ESPN) *1991 – Bob Costas (NBC) *1992 – Bob Costas (NBC) *1993 – Chris Berman (ESPN) *1994 – Chris Berman (ESPN) *1995 – Bob Costas (NBC) *1996 – Chris Berman (ESPN) *1997 – Bob Costas (NBC) *1998 –

Jim Nantz James William Nantz III (born May 17, 1959) is an American sportscaster who has worked on telecasts of the National Football League (NFL), NCAA Division I men's basketball, the NBA and the PGA Tour for CBS Sports since the 1980s. He has ancho ...

(CBS) *1999 – Dan Patrick (ESPN) *2000 – Bob Costas (NBC, HBO) *2001 – Chris Berman (ESPN) *2002 –

Joe Buck Joseph Francis Buck (born April 25, 1969) is an American sportscaster. The son of sportscaster Jack Buck, he worked for Fox Sports from its 1994 inception through 2022, including roles as lead play-by-play announcer for the network's Nation ...

( Fox) *2003 – Joe Buck (Fox) *2004 – Joe Buck (Fox) *2005 – Jim Nantz (CBS) *2006 – Joe Buck (Fox) *2007 – Jim Nantz (CBS) *2008 – Jim Nantz (CBS) *2009 – Jim Nantz (CBS) *2010 – Mike Tirico (ABC, ESPN)The hall of fame inductees and the Sportscaster and Sportswriter of the Year will be honored during the NSSA's 52nd Annual Awards Weekend, May 14–16, 2011, in Salisbury, N.C., along with 110 state Sportscasters and Sportswriters of the Year. *2011 –

Dan Shulman Daniel Shulman is a Canadian sportscaster with Sportsnet as well as the American network ESPN. Shulman serves as a play-by-play announcer for select Toronto Blue Jays telecasts on Sportsnet and during 2018 and 2020 he hosted the baseball-the ...

(ESPN) *2012 – Dan Patrick (NBC) *2013 – Mike Emrick (NBC) *2014 – Mike Emrick (NBC) *2015 – Mike Emrick (NBC) *2016 – Vin Scully (L.A. Dodgers) *2017 –

Kevin Harlan Kevin Harlan (born June 21, 1960) is an American television and radio sports announcer. The son of former Green Bay Packers executive Bob Harlan, he broadcasts NFL and college basketball games on CBS and the NBA for TNT. 2022 will be his 38th ...

(CBS,

Turner Turner may refer to: People and fictional characters *Turner (surname), a common surname, including a list of people and fictional characters with the name * Turner (given name), a list of people with the given name *One who uses a lathe for turni ...

) *2018 -

Doris Burke Doris Burke ( Sable) is an American sports announcer and analyst for NBA on ESPN, NBA on ABC, College Basketball on ESPN, and College Basketball on ABC games. She formerly worked as an analyst for WNBA games on MSG, and has worked on New Yor ...

(ESPN, ABC) *2019 –

(CBS,

) *2020 – Mike Emrick (NBC) *2021 — Ernie Johnson Jr. (Turner) and

Scott Van Pelt Scott Van Pelt (born ) is an American sportscaster and sports talk show host. He co-anchored the 11 p.m. edition of ''SportsCenter'' on ESPN, served as the co-host of '' SVP & Russillo'' alongside Ryen Russillo on ESPN Radio, and hosts various ...

(ESPN)

National Sportswriter of the Year

For a list of winners, see footnote Jim Murray, writing for the

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the U ...

, won the National Sportswriter of the Year award a record 14 times, including 12 years in succession from 1966 to 1977. More recently,

, writing for

and

, has won 11 awards. *1959 – Red Smith (''

New York Herald-Tribune The ''New York Herald Tribune'' was a newspaper published between 1924 and 1966. It was created in 1924 when Ogden Mills Reid of the ''New-York Tribune'' acquired the ''New York Herald''. It was regarded as a "writer's newspaper" and competed ...

'') *1960 – Red Smith (''New York Herald-Tribune'') *1961 – Red Smith (''New York Herald-Tribune'') *1962 – Red Smith (''New York Herald-Tribune'') *1963 –

Arthur Daley ''Minder'' is a British comedy-drama series about the London Organized crime, criminal underworld. Initially produced by Verity Lambert, it was made by Euston Films, a subsidiary of Thames Television, and shown on ITV (TV network), ITV for ten ...

(''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'') *1964 – Jim Murray (''

'') *1965 – Red Smith (''New York Herald-Tribune'') *1966 – Jim Murray (''Los Angeles Times'') *1967 – Jim Murray (''Los Angeles Times'') *1968 – Jim Murray (''Los Angeles Times'') *1969 – Jim Murray (''Los Angeles Times'') *1970 – Jim Murray (''Los Angeles Times'') *1971 – Jim Murray (''Los Angeles Times'') *1972 – Jim Murray (''Los Angeles Times'') *1973 – Jim Murray (''Los Angeles Times'') *1974 – Jim Murray (''Los Angeles Times'') *1975 – Jim Murray (''Los Angeles Times'') *1976 – Jim Murray (''Los Angeles Times'') *1977 – Jim Murray (''Los Angeles Times'') *1978 – Will Grimsley (

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. ne ...

) *1979 – Jim Murray (''Los Angeles Times'') *1980 – Will Grimsley (Associated Press) *1981 – Will Grimsley (Associated Press) *1982 –

Frank Deford Benjamin Franklin Deford III (December 16, 1938 – May 28, 2017) was an American sportswriter and novelist. From 1980 until his death in 2017, he was a regular sports commentator on NPR's ''Morning Edition'' radio program. Deford wrote fo ...

(''

'') *1983 – Frank Deford (''Sports Illustrated'') *1984 – Frank Deford (''Sports Illustrated'') *1985 – Frank Deford (''Sports Illustrated'') *1986 – Frank Deford (''Sports Illustrated'') *1987 – Frank Deford (''Sports Illustrated'') *1988 – Frank Deford (''Sports Illustrated'') *1989 –

(''Sports Illustrated'') *1990 – Peter Gammons (''

Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...

'') *1991 –

(''Sports Illustrated'') *1992 – Rick Reilly (''Sports Illustrated'') *1993 – Peter Gammons (''Boston Globe'',

) *1994 – Rick Reilly (''Sports Illustrated'') *1995 – Rick Reilly (''Sports Illustrated'') *1996 – Rick Reilly (''Sports Illustrated'') *1997 – Dave Kindred ('' Sporting News'') *1998 –

(''

Detroit Free Press The ''Detroit Free Press'' is the largest daily newspaper in Detroit, Michigan, US. The Sunday edition is titled the ''Sunday Free Press''. It is sometimes referred to as the Freep (reflected in the paper's web address, www.freep.com). It primari ...

'') *1999 – Rick Reilly (''Sports Illustrated'') *2000 –

Bob Ryan Robert P. Ryan (born February 21, 1946) is an American sportswriter, formerly with ''The Boston Globe'', and author. He has been described as "the quintessential American sportswriter" and a basketball guru, and is well known for his coverage of ...

(''Boston Globe'') *2001 – Rick Reilly (''Sports Illustrated'') *2002 – Rick Reilly (''Sports Illustrated'') *2003 – Rick Reilly (''Sports Illustrated'') *2004 – Rick Reilly (''Sports Illustrated'') *2005 – Steve Rushin (''Sports Illustrated'') *2006 – Rick Reilly (''Sports Illustrated'') *2007 – Bob Ryan (''Boston Globe'') *2008 – Bob Ryan (''Boston Globe'') *2009 – Bob Ryan (''Boston Globe'') *2010 – Peter King (''Sports Illustrated'') *2011 – Peter King (''Sports Illustrated'') *2012 – Joe Posnanski (''Sports Illustrated'') *2013 – Peter King (''Sports Illustrated'') *2014 –

(''Sports Illustrated'') *2015 – Tom Verducci (''Sports Illustrated'') *2016 – Tom Verducci (''Sports Illustrated'') *2017 –

Adrian Wojnarowski Adrian Wojnarowski (; born March 4, 1969), nicknamed Woj, is an American sports columnist and reporter. He is an NBA insider for ESPN, having previously covered the NBA for Yahoo! Sports. Personal life Wojnarowski was born in Bristol, Connecti ...

(ESPN) *2018 –

(ESPN) *2019 –

(ESPN) *2020 – Nicole Auerbach (

The Athletic ''The Athletic'' is a subscription-based sports website that provides national and local coverage in 47 North American cities as well as the United Kingdom. ''The Athletic'' also covers national stories from top professional and college sports ...

) *2021 –

Jeff Passan Jeffrey Scott Passan (born September 21, 1980) is an American baseball columnist with ESPN and author of ''New York Times'' Best Seller ''The Arm: Inside the Billion-Dollar Mystery of the Most Valuable Commodity in Sports''. He is also co-author ...

(ESPN)

State winners

See footnote *Sportscaster of the Year (1959–present; in each state and the District of Columbia) *Sportswriter of the Year (1959–present; in each state and the District of Columbia)

Hall of Fame

Each spring, the NSMA Hall of Fame inducts one or more new members.For the official list of the members of the NSMA Hall of Fame, go to th
NSMA website
click on "Awards" and then click on "Hall of Fame." For each inductee's biographical sketch, click on the hyperlink for that inductee. NSMA website. Retrieved 2017-01-01. There were not any inductees in 1965, 1966, 1968, and 2006. *1962 –

*1963 – Ted Husing *1964 –

Damon Runyon Alfred Damon Runyon (October 4, 1880 – December 10, 1946) was an American newspaperman and short-story writer. He was best known for his short stories celebrating the world of Broadway in New York City that grew out of the Prohibition era. To N ...

*1964 –

Graham McNamee Thomas Graham McNamee (July 10, 1888 – May 9, 1942) was an American radio broadcaster, the medium's most recognized national personality in its first international decade. He originated play-by-play sports broadcasting for which he was awa ...

*1965 – ''(no induction)'' *1966 – ''(no induction)'' *1967 –

Ring Lardner Ringgold Wilmer Lardner (March 6, 1885 – September 25, 1933) was an American sports columnist and short story writer best known for his satirical writings on sports, marriage, and the theatre. His contemporaries Ernest Hemingway, Virginia Wo ...

*1968 – ''(no induction)'' *1969 – J. G. Taylor Spink *1970 –

Clem McCarthy Clem McCarthy (September 9, 1882 – June 4, 1962)DeLong, Thomas A. (1996). ''Radio Stars: An Illustrated Biographical Dictionary of 953 Performers, 1920 through 1960''. McFarland & Company, Inc. . P. 173. was an American sportscaster and pu ...

*1971 –

John Kieran John Francis Kieran (August 2, 1892 – December 10, 1981) was an American author, journalist, amateur naturalist and radio and television personality. Early years A native of The Bronx, Kieran was the son of Dr. James M. Kieran and his wife, K ...

*1972 –

Mel Allen Mel Allen (born Melvin Allen Israel; February 14, 1913 – June 16, 1996) was an American sportscaster, best known for his long tenure as the primary play-by-play announcer for the New York Yankees. During the peak of his career in the 1940s, ...

*1973 –

Arch Ward Archie Burdette Ward (December 27, 1896 – July 9, 1955) was an American journalist who served as sports editor for the ''Chicago Tribune''. He was the creator of the Major League Baseball All-Star Game and the Golden Gloves amateur boxing tourna ...

*1973 –

Red Barber Walter Lanier "Red" Barber (February 17, 1908 – October 22, 1992) was an American sports announcer and author. Nicknamed "The Ol' Redhead", he was primarily identified with broadcasts of Major League Baseball, calling play-by-play across four d ...

*1974 –

Bill Stern Bill Stern (July 1, 1907 – November 19, 1971) was an American actor and sportscaster who announced the nation's first remote sports broadcast and the first telecast of a baseball game. In 1984, Stern was part of the American Sportscaster ...

*1974 – Stanley Woodward *1975 – Dan Parker *1975 – Russ Hodges *1976 –

*1976 –

Dizzy Dean Jay Hanna "Dizzy" Dean (January 16, 1910 – July 17, 1974), also known as Jerome Herman Dean (both the 1910 and 1920 Censuses show his name as "Jay"), was an American professional baseball pitcher. During his Major League Baseball (MLB) career ...

*1977 – Red Smith *1978 –

Jesse Owens James Cleveland "Jesse" Owens (September 12, 1913March 31, 1980) was an American track and field athlete who won four gold medals at the 1936 Olympic Games. Owens specialized in the sprints and the long jump and was recognized in his lifet ...

*1978 – Jim Murray *1979 – John Wayne *1979 –

*1980 –

Bob Considine Robert Bernard Considine (November 4, 1906 – September 25, 1975), was an American journalist, author, and commentator. He is best known as the co-author of ''Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo'' and ''The Babe Ruth Story''. Biography As a student, ...

*1980 –

Lou Gehrig Henry Louis Gehrig (born Heinrich Ludwig Gehrig ; June 19, 1903June 2, 1941) was an American professional baseball first baseman who played 17 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees (1923–1939). Gehrig was renowned f ...

*1981 – Chris Schenkel *1981 –

*1982 – Ray Scott *1983 –

Jack Brickhouse John Beasley Brickhouse (January 24, 1916 – August 6, 1998) was an American sportscaster. Known primarily for his play-by-play coverage of Chicago Cubs games on WGN-TV from 1948 to 1981, he received the Ford C. Frick Award from the Baseball Ha ...

*1984 –

Shirley Povich Shirley Lewis Povich (July 15, 1905 – June 4, 1998) was an American sports columnist and reporter for '' The Washington Post''. Biography Povich's parents were Jewish immigrants from Lithuania. Having grown up in coastal Bar Harbor, Main ...

*1985 –

Si Burick The International System of Units, known by the international abbreviation SI in all languages and sometimes pleonastically as the SI system, is the modern form of the metric system and the world's most widely used system of measurement. ...

*1986 –

Bob Prince Robert Ferris Prince (July 1, 1916 – June 10, 1985) was an American radio and television sportscaster and commentator, best known for his 28-year stint as the voice of the Pittsburgh Pirates Major League Baseball club, with whom he earned the ...

*1986 –

Don Dunphy Don Dunphy (July 5, 1908 – July 22, 1998) was an American television and radio sports announcer specializing in boxing broadcasts. Dunphy was noted for his fast-paced delivery and enthusiasm for the sport. It is estimated that he did "blow-by ...

*1986 –

Jimmy Cannon Jimmy Cannon (April 10, 1909 – December 5, 1973) was a sports journalist inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame for his coverage of the sport. Early career Born in New York City, Cannon started at the New York Daily News when he ...

*1987 –

Jim McKay James Kenneth McManus (September 24, 1921 – June 7, 2008), better known professionally as Jim McKay, was an American television sports journalist. McKay was best known for hosting ABC's '' Wide World of Sports'' (1961–1998). His introd ...

*1987 – Will Grimsley *1988 – Fred Russell *1988 –

Harry Caray Harry Christopher Caray (; March 1, 1914 – February 18, 1998) was an American radio and television sportscaster. During his career he called the play-by-play for five Major League Baseball teams, beginning with 25 years of calling the games ...

*1988 – Jack Murphy *1989 – Furman Bisher *1989 –

Ernie Harwell William Earnest Harwell (January 25, 1918 – May 4, 2010) was an American sportscaster, known for his long career calling play-by-play of Major League Baseball games. For 55 seasons, 42 of them with the Detroit Tigers, Harwell called the actio ...

*1990 – Dave Anderson *1990 –

*1990 – Knute Rockne *1990 – Ronald Reagan *1991 – Blackie Sherrod *1991 –

*1992 – Dick Connor *1993 –

Howard Cosell Howard is an English-language given name originating from Old French Huard (or Houard) from a Germanic source similar to Old High German ''*Hugihard'' "heart-brave", or ''*Hoh-ward'', literally "high defender; chief guardian". It is also probabl ...

*1993 –

Marty Glickman Martin Irving Glickman (August 14, 1917 – January 3, 2001) was an American radio announcer who was famous for his broadcasts of the New York Knicks basketball games and the football games of the New York Giants and the New York Jets. Glickman w ...

*1993 –

Murray Olderman Murray Olderman (March 27, 1922 – June 10, 2020) was an American sports cartoonist and writer. His artwork often accompanied the sports stories he authored. His art also has been used by the Pro Football Hall of Fame and hung above the Hall of F ...

*1994 –

Edwin Pope John Edwin Pope (April 11, 1928 – January 19, 2017) was an American journalist known for his sportswriting at the ''Miami Herald'', where his work appeared from 1956 until his death in 2017. He covered Super Bowl I through Super Bowl XLVII. Som ...

*1994 – John Carmichael *1994 –

*1995 – Keith Jackson *1995 –

Mel Durslag Melvin Durslag (April 29, 1921 – July 17, 2016) was an American sportswriter. Durslag began writing for the ''Los Angeles Herald-Express'' in 1939, while he was a senior at Los Angeles High School, and joined the staff full-time in 1940, w ...

*1996 –

Dan Jenkins Daniel Thomas Jenkins (December 2, 1928 – March 7, 2019) was an American author and sportswriter who often wrote for ''Sports Illustrated''. He was also a high-standard amateur golfer who played college golf at Texas Christian University. Ear ...

*1996 –

*1997 – Chick Hearn *1997 – Bob Broeg *1998 –

*1998 –

*1999 –

John Steadman John Steadman (February 14, 1927 – January 1, 2001) was an American sportswriter for ''The Baltimore Sun''. His career spanned seven decades and he attended and reported on every Super Bowl from its inception until his death. Background Stead ...

* *1999 –

Jon Miller Jon Miller (born October 11, 1951) is an American sportscaster, known primarily for his broadcasts of Major League Baseball. Since 1997 he has been employed as a play-by-play announcer for the San Francisco Giants. He was also a baseball annou ...

*2000 – Jerry Izenberg *2000 – Jim Simpson *2001 – George Vecsey *2001 – Jack Whitaker *2001 – W.C. Heinz *2002 – Bob Murphy *2002 –

Bud Collins Arthur Worth "Bud" Collins Jr. (June 17, 1929 – March 4, 2016) was an American journalist and television sportscaster, best known for his tennis commentary. Collins was married to photographer Anita Ruthling Klaussen. Education Collins was b ...

*2003 –

Bob Wolff Robert Alfred Wolff (November 29, 1920 – July 15, 2017) was an American radio and television sportscaster. He began his professional career in 1939 on CBS in Durham, North Carolina while attending Duke University. He was the radio and TV vo ...

*2003 –

Will McDonough William McDonough (July 6, 1935 – January 9, 2003) was an American sportswriter for ''The Boston Globe'' who also worked as an on-air football reporter for CBS and NBC. Biography Newspaper career The youngest of nine children of Irish immigran ...

*2004 – Jerome Holtzman *2004 –

Joe Garagiola Joseph Henry Garagiola Sr. (February 12, 1926 – March 23, 2016) was an American professional baseball catcher, later an announcer and television host, popular for his colorful personality. Garagiola played nine seasons in Major League Basebal ...

*2005 –

Marty Brennaman Franchester Martin Brennaman (born July 28, 1942) is an American retired sportscaster, best known for his long tenure as the play-by-play voice of Major League Baseball's Cincinnati Reds on the Cincinnati Reds Radio Network. Known for his opin ...

*2005 – Sally Jenkins *2006 – ''(no induction)'' *2007 – Dave Kindred *2007 –

Verne Lundquist Merton Laverne Lundquist Jr. (born July 17, 1940) is an American sportscaster. Biography Early life and career Lundquist was born in Duluth, Minnesota. He graduated from Austin High School in Austin, Texas, before attending Texas Lutheran U ...

*2008 –

Harry Kalas Harold Norbert Kalas (March 26, 1936 – April 13, 2009) was an American sportscaster, best known for his Ford C. Frick Award-winning role as lead play-by-play announcer for Major League Baseball's Philadelphia Phillies, a position he held fr ...

*2008 – Mary Garber *2009 – Larry Munson *2009 –

Leigh Montville Leigh Montville (born July 20, 1943) is an American writer and former newspaper columnist who worked for ''The Boston Globe'' and ''Sports Illustrated''. Early life and education Montville was born in New Haven, Connecticut. He graduated from th ...

*2010 –

*2011 –

*2011 – Bob Uecker *2011 – Brent Musburger *2012 –

*2012 –

John Feinstein John Feinstein (born July 28, 1956) is an American sportswriter, author and sports commentator. Early life Feinstein was born to a Jewish family in New York City on July 28, 1956. His father was heavily involved in the arts having been the Ge ...

*2013 –

*2014 –

*2015 –

*2015 – Lesley Visser *2016 –

*2016 –

Billy Packer Anthony William Packer (born Anthony William Paczkowski,
Retr ...

*2016 –

David Halberstam David Halberstam (April 10, 1934 April 23, 2007) was an American writer, journalist, and historian, known for his work on the Vietnam War, politics, history, the Civil Rights Movement, business, media, American culture, Korean War, and late ...

*2016 – Gary Smith *2017 –

Frank Gifford Francis Newton Gifford (August 16, 1930 – August 9, 2015) was an American football player, actor, and television sports commentator. After a 12-year playing career as a halfback and flanker for the New York Giants of the National Foo ...

*2017 –

Linda Cohn Linda Cohn (born ) is an American sportscaster. She anchors ESPN's ''SportsCenter''. Early life and education Cohn grew up in a Jewish family on Long Island, New York. As a child, she would watch sports on TV with her father, who is a huge sp ...

*2017 – Sam Lacy *2017 – Mike Lupica *2018 –

Thomas Boswell Thomas M. Boswell (born October 11, 1947, in Washington, D.C.) is a retired American sports columnist. Career Boswell spent his entire career at the ''Washington Post'', joining it shortly after graduating from Amherst College in 1969. He became ...

*2018 – Woody Durham *2018 –

Bryant Gumbel Bryant Charles Gumbel (born September 29, 1948) is an American television journalist and sportscaster, best known for his 15 years as co-host of NBC's '' Today''. He is the younger brother of sportscaster Greg Gumbel. Since 1995, he has hosted ...

*2018 – Dick Weiss *2019 – Mike Emrick *2019 – Bob Ley *2019 – Peter King *2019 –

Tony Kornheiser Anthony Irwin Kornheiser (; born July 13, 1948) is an American television sports talk show host and former sportswriter and columnist. Kornheiser is best known for his endeavors in three forms of media: as a writer for ''The Washington Post'' fro ...

*2020 –

Skip Caray Harry Christopher "Skip" Caray Jr. (August 12, 1939 – August 3, 2008) was an American sportscaster, best known for his long career as a radio and television play-by-play announcer for the Atlanta Braves of Major League Baseball. He was the so ...

*2020 – Cawood Ledford *2020 – Dan Patrick *2020 –

*2020 –

Michael Wilbon Michael Wilbon (; born ) is an American commentator for ESPN and former sportswriter and columnist for ''The Washington Post''. He is an analyst for ESPN and has co-hosted ''Pardon the Interruption'' on ESPN since 2001. Early life and education ...

*2020 – Dick Young *2021 –

Bill King Wilbur "Bill" King (October 6, 1927 – October 18, 2005) was an American sports announcer. In 2016, the National Baseball Hall of Fame named King recipient of the 2017 Ford C. Frick Award, the highest honor for American baseball broadcasters. ...

*2021 –

Larry Merchant Larry Merchant (born Larry Kaufman; February 11, 1931) is an American sportswriter, a longtime commentator for HBO sports presentations of ''HBO World Championship Boxing'', ''Boxing After Dark'' and HBO pay-per-view telecasts, called "the grea ...

*2021 – William Nack *2021 –

*2021 – William C. Rhoden *2021 – Dick Stockton *2021 – Rick Telander *2022 –

Hubie Brown Hubert Jude Brown (born September 25, 1933) is an American retired basketball coach and player and a current television analyst. Brown is a two-time NBA Coach of the Year, the honors being separated by 26 years. Brown was inducted into the Naism ...

*2022 – Curry Kirkpatrick *2022 – Jackie MacMullan *2022 –

Stuart Scott Stuart Orlando Scott (July 19, 1965 – January 4, 2015) was an American sportscaster and anchor on ESPN, most notably on ''SportsCenter''. Well known for his hip-hop style and use of catchphrases, Scott was also a regular for the network i ...

Footnotes

External links

National Sports Media Association (NSMA)
official website
Our History
NSSA website. Retrieved 2011-08-21. {{Bear Bryant Award American sports journalism organizations Journalism-related professional associations Sports organizations established in 1959 Organizations based in Winston-Salem, North Carolina

History

Organization

Paul "Bear" Bryant Award

Clarence "Big House" Gaines Awards

National Sportscaster of the Year

National Sportswriter of the Year

State winners

Hall of Fame

See also

Footnotes

External links