National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association

The National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association, or NSSA, is an organization of sports media

Sports journalism

Sports journalism is a form of journalism that reports on sports topics and events.While the sports department within some newspapers has been mockingly called the toy department, because sports journalists do not concern themselves with the 'serious' topics covered by the news desk, sports...

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

The purpose of this organization is to recognize the sportscasters

Broadcasting of sports events

The broadcasting of sports events is the coverage of sports as a television program, on radio and other broadcasting media. It usually involves one or more sports commentators describing the events as they happen.-United States:...

and sportswriters of the United States for their leadership, devotion, contributions in developing integrity of character, sportsmanship, and physical fitness among both the youth and the adults of this and other nations. Salisbury, North Carolina

Salisbury, North Carolina

Salisbury is a city in Rowan County in North Carolina, a state of the United States of America. The population was 33,663 in the 2010 Census . It is the county seat of Rowan County...

, serves as the headquarters for NSSA, which is responsible for the organizing and counting of all the ballots for the National, 50 States plus D.C., and the Hall of Fame winners. There are now more than 80 inductees in the Hall of Fame. The organization plans and funds the Annual Awards Program, and it will ultimately fund the NSSA Hall of Fame.

History

See footnote

The National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association (NSSA) was formed in 1959 by a local restaurant owner, Pete DiMizio, to honor regional sportscasters and sportswriters whom he had met at the Greensboro Open Golf Tournament in Greensboro, North Carolina

Greensboro, North Carolina

Greensboro is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the third-largest city by population in North Carolina and the largest city in Guilford County and the surrounding Piedmont Triad metropolitan region. According to the 2010 U.S...

. 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

Salisbury, North Carolina

Salisbury is a city in Rowan County in North Carolina, a state of the United States of America. The population was 33,663 in the 2010 Census . It is the county seat of Rowan County...

, on April 12, 1960. Lindsey Nelson

Lindsey Nelson

Lindsey Nelson was an American sportscaster best known for his broadcasts of college football and New York Mets baseball.-Early life and career:...

was selected the 1959 National Sportscaster of the Year and Red Smith

Red Smith (sportswriter)

For other uses, see: Red Smith Walter Wellesley "Red" Smith was an American sportswriter who rose to become one of America's most widely read sports columnists.-Career:After graduating from Green Bay East High School, site of Packers home games until 1957, Smith moved on to...

was voted the 1959 Sportswriter of the Year. In 1962 Grantland Rice

Grantland Rice

Grantland Rice 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.-Biography:...

was selected as the first Hall of Fame member. 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 by 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 Thirty-first Annual Awards Program, with Chris Berman of ESPN

ESPN

Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....

being selected as Sportscaster of the Year and Peter Gammons

Peter Gammons

Peter Gammons is an American sportswriter, media personality, and a recipient of the J. G. Taylor Spink Award for outstanding baseball writing, given by the BBWAA.-Education:...

receiving the honor as Sportswriter of the Year. The Hall of Fame inductees were Dave Anderson

Dave Anderson (sportswriter)

Dave Anderson is an American sportswriter based in New York City. After graduating in 1947 from Xavier High School - an elite Jesuit preparatory school in New York City - Anderson attended the College of the Holy Cross in Massachusetts, graduating in 1951.Anderson has written for a number of New...

, Pulitzer Prize

Pulitzer Prize

The Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...

winner from The New York Times, and Jack Buck

Jack Buck

John Francis "Jack" Buck was an American sportscaster, best known for his work announcing Major League Baseball games of the St. Louis Cardinals. Buck received the Ford C. Frick Award from the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1987, and is honored with a star on the St. Louis Walk of Fame...

, the long-time radio voice of the St. Louis Cardinals

St. Louis Cardinals

The St. Louis Cardinals are a professional baseball team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are members of the Central Division in the National League of Major League Baseball. The Cardinals have won eleven World Series championships, the most of any National League team, and second overall only to...

and a radio and television sportscaster for CBS

CBS

CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...

Organization

The NSSA is the only national organization which brings together the two crafts of sportscasting and sportswriting. There are approximately 1,000 dues-paying members. The Sportscasters and Sportswriters Foundation Board is made up of individuals in Salisbury, North Carolina

Salisbury, North Carolina

Salisbury is a city in Rowan County in North Carolina, a state of the United States of America. The population was 33,663 in the 2010 Census . It is the county seat of Rowan County...

, 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

Internal Revenue Service

The Internal Revenue Service is the revenue service of the United States federal government. The agency is a bureau of the Department of the Treasury, and is under the immediate direction of the Commissioner of Internal Revenue...

Paul "Bear" Bryant Award

The Paul "Bear" Bryant Award is an award that has been given annually since 1986 to NCAA college football

College football

College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...

's national coach of the year

Coach of the Year

Many sports leagues, sportswriting associations, and other organizations confer "Coach of the Year" awards.Some of these are:*AFCA Coach of the Year *Annis Stukus Trophy...

. 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 NSSA, and proceeds from the awards ceremony benefit the American Heart Association

American Heart Association

The American Heart Association is a non-profit organization in the United States that fosters appropriate cardiac care in an effort to reduce disability and deaths caused by cardiovascular disease and stroke. It is headquartered in Dallas, Texas...

. The College Football Coach of the Year Award began in 1957 and was renamed for Bryant in 1986. Bryant himself won the earlier 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.

National Sportscaster of the Year

For list of winners, see footnote

1. 1959 – Lindsey Nelson
Lindsey Nelson
Lindsey Nelson was an American sportscaster best known for his broadcasts of college football and New York Mets baseball.-Early life and career:...

(NBC) first year of the award)
2. 1960 – Lindsey Nelson (NBC)
3. 1961 – Lindsey Nelson (NBC)
4. 1962 – Lindsey Nelson (NBC)
5. 1963 – Chris Schenkel
Chris Schenkel
Christopher Eugene "Chris" Schenkel was an American sportscaster. Over the course of five decades he called play-by-play for numerous sports on television and radio, becoming known for his smooth delivery and baritone voice.-Early life and career:Schenkel began his broadcasting career at radio...

(CBS)
6. 1964 – Chris Schenkel (CBS)
7. 1965 – Vin Scully
Vin Scully
Vincent Edward Scully is an American sportscaster, known primarily as the play-by-play voice of the Brooklyn and Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team on Prime Ticket, KCAL-TV and KABC radio...

(L. A. Dodgers)
8. 1966 – Curt Gowdy
Curt Gowdy
Curtis Edward "Curt" Gowdy was an American sportscaster, well known as the longtime "voice" of the Boston Red Sox and for his coverage of many nationally-televised sporting events, primarily for NBC Sports in the 1960s and 1970s.-Early years:The son of a manager for the Union Pacific railroad,...

(NBC)
9. 1967 – Chris Schenkel (CBS)
10. 1968 – Ray Scott
Ray Scott (sportscaster)
Ray Scott , was an American sportscaster, best known for his broadcasts for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League. His brother Hal Scott was also a sportscaster.-Early life and career:Scott began his broadcasting career on local radio in the late 1930s...

(CBS)
11. 1969 – Curt Gowdy (NBC)
12. 1970 – Chris Schenkel (CBS)
13. 1971 – Ray Scott (CBS)
14. 1972 – Keith Jackson
Keith Jackson
Keith Jackson is an American sportscaster, known for his long career with ABC Sports , his coverage of college football , his style of folksy, down-to-earth commentary, and his distinctive voice, with its deep cadence, and operatic tone considered "like Edward R...

(ABC)
15. 1973 – Keith Jackson (ABC)
16. 1974 – Keith Jackson (ABC)
17. 1975 – Keith Jackson (ABC)
18. 1976 – Keith Jackson (ABC)
19. 1977 – Pat Summerall
Pat Summerall
George Allen "Pat" Summerall is a former American football player and television sportscaster, having worked at CBS, Fox, and ESPN.Summerall is best known for his work with John Madden on NFL telecasts for CBS and Fox.-High school:...

(CBS)
20. 1978 – Vin Scully (L.A. Dodgers, CBS)
21. 1979 – Dick Enberg
Dick Enberg
Richard Alan "Dick" Enberg is an American sportscaster. He currently provides play-by-play for telecasts of San Diego Padres baseball on 4SD, following a long career calling various sports for such networks as NBC, CBS, and ESPN...

(NBC)
22. 1980 – Dick Enberg (NBC) and Al Michaels
Al Michaels
Alan Richard "Al" Michaels is an American television sportscaster. Now employed by NBC Sports after nearly three decades with ABC Sports, Michaels is one of the most prominent members of his profession...

(ABC)
23. 1981 – Dick Enberg (NBC)
24. 1982 – Vin Scully (L.A. Dodgers, CBS)
25. 1983 – Al Michaels (ABC)
26. 1984 – John Madden
John Madden (American football)
John Earl Madden is a former American professional football player in the National Football League, a former Super Bowl-winning head coach with the Oakland Raiders in the American Football League and later the NFL, and a former color commentator for NFL telecasts. In 2006, he was inducted into...

(CBS)
27. 1985 – Bob Costas
Bob Costas
Robert Quinlan "Bob" Costas is an American sportscaster, on the air for the NBC network since the early 1980s.-Early life:...

(NBC)
28. 1986 – Al Michaels (ABC)
29. 1987 – Bob Costas (NBC)
30. 1988 – Bob Costas (NBC)
31. 1989 – Chris Berman (ESPN)

32. 1990 – Chris Berman (ESPN)
33. 1991 – Bob Costas (NBC)
34. 1992 – Bob Costas (NBC)
35. 1993 – Chris Berman (ESPN)
36. 1994 – Chris Berman (ESPN)
37. 1995 – Bob Costas (NBC)
38. 1996 – Chris Berman (ESPN)
39. 1997 – Bob Costas (NBC)
40. 1998 – Jim Nantz
Jim Nantz
James William Nantz, III is an American sportscaster, known primarily for his work with CBS Sports television.-Early life:...

(CBS Sports)
41. 1999 – Dan Patrick
Dan Patrick
Daniel Patrick Pugh , professionally known as Dan Patrick, is an American sportscaster, radio personality, and actor from Mason, Ohio...

(ESPN)
42. 2000 – Bob Costas (NBC Sports / HBO)
43. 2001 – Chris Berman (ESPN)
44. 2002 – Joe Buck
Joe Buck
Joseph Francis "Joe" Buck is an American sportscaster and the son of legendary sportscaster Jack Buck. He has won numerous Sports Emmy Awards for his play-by-play work with Fox Sports.-Education:...

(Fox Sports)
45. 2003 – Joe Buck (Fox Sports)
46. 2004 – Joe Buck (Fox Sports)
47. 2005 – Jim Nantz (CBS Sports)
48. 2006 – Joe Buck (Fox Sports)
49. 2007 – Jim Nantz (CBS Sports)
50. 2008 – Jim Nantz (CBS Sports)
51. 2009 – Jim Nantz (CBS Sports)
52. 2010 – Mike Tirico
Mike Tirico
Michael Todd Tirico is an announcer for ESPN's presentation of Monday Night Football, and second lead broadcaster for ESPN's presentation of the NBA. In addition, Tirico hosts a multitude of programming on ESPN/ABC. He was the host of ABC's golf coverage from 1996 to 2007, and continues in that...

(ABC and ESPN)

National Sportswriter of the Year

For list of winners, see footnote

Jim Murray

Jim Murray (sportswriter)

James Patrick Murray was an American sportswriter at the Los Angeles Times from 1961 to 1998.Many of his achievements include winning the NSSA's Sportswriter of the Year award an astounding fourteen times...

, writing for the Los Angeles Times

Los Angeles Times

The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....

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

Rick Reilly

Richard "Rick" Paul Reilly 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 is a featured columnist for ESPN.com and wrote the back page column for ESPN the Magazine...

, writing for Sports Illustrated

Sports Illustrated

Sports Illustrated is an American sports media company owned by media conglomerate Time Warner. Its self titled magazine has over 3.5 million subscribers and is read by 23 million adults each week, including over 18 million men. It was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the...

, has won 11 awards.

1. 1959 – Red Smith
Red Smith (sportswriter)
For other uses, see: Red Smith Walter Wellesley "Red" Smith was an American sportswriter who rose to become one of America's most widely read sports columnists.-Career:After graduating from Green Bay East High School, site of Packers home games until 1957, Smith moved on to...

(first year of the award)
31. 1989 – Peter Gammons
Peter Gammons
Peter Gammons is an American sportswriter, media personality, and a recipient of the J. G. Taylor Spink Award for outstanding baseball writing, given by the BBWAA.-Education:...
50. 2008 – Bob Ryan
Bob Ryan
Bob Ryan is an American sportswriter for The Boston Globe. He has been described as "the quintessential American sportswriter" and a basketball guru and is well known for his coverage of the sport including his famous stories covering the Boston Celtics in the 1970s. After graduating from Boston...

of The Boston Globe
The Boston Globe
The Boston Globe is an American daily newspaper based in Boston, Massachusetts. The Boston Globe has been owned by The New York Times Company since 1993...
51. 2009 –
52. 2010 – Peter King
Peter King (sportswriter)
Peter King is an American sportswriter. He currently writes for Sports Illustrated and its Web site, including the weekly multiple-page column Monday Morning Quarterback. He is the author of five books, most notably Inside the Helmet, as well as a TV analyst and reporter...

of Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated is an American sports media company owned by media conglomerate Time Warner. Its self titled magazine has over 3.5 million subscribers and is read by 23 million adults each week, including over 18 million men. It was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the...

and si.com

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

See footnotes. See also: Hall of fame
Hall of Fame
A hall of fame, wall of fame, walk of fame, walk of stars or avenue of stars is a type of attraction established for any field of endeavor to honor individuals of noteworthy achievement in that field...

and USBWA Hall of Fame.

1962 – Grantland Rice
Grantland Rice
Grantland Rice 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.-Biography:...
2011 – Sportscaster: Brent Musburger (ABC, CBS), Bob Uecker
Bob Uecker
Robert George "Bob" Uecker is an American former Major League Baseball player, later a sportscaster, comedian, and actor. Uecker was given the title of "Mr. Baseball" by Johnny Carson...

(various)
2011 – Sportswriter: Bob Ryan
Bob Ryan
Bob Ryan is an American sportswriter for The Boston Globe. He has been described as "the quintessential American sportswriter" and a basketball guru and is well known for his coverage of the sport including his famous stories covering the Boston Celtics in the 1970s. After graduating from Boston...

(Boston Globe)

External links

NSSA official website
About the NSSA and its Hall of Fame

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