From the very beginning of the romance between microphone and Frank Messer, there was, appropriately enough, a Marine-like precision in the way his sonorous tones came over the airways. The tall North Carolinian, who served the Marine Corps from 1942-1945,…
Marshall Johnson held an extensive newspaper career working for the Lynchburg News and the Manassas Journal. In 1949, he joined the Richmond bureau of the Associated Press, holding a number of positions including sports editor until his retirement career. He…
Charles Karmosky was the long-time sports editor for the Newport News Daily Press. He became sports editor of the Daily Press in 1948 and directed the development of the paper's outstanding sports section until his retirement in 1983. During that…
Described as a sportswriter with legendary concern for objectivity, integrity, sportsmanship, and the feelings of the people about whom he wrote, Bill Leffler left his mark as one of the top writers in the history of Virginia athletics. After 41…
Laurence Leonard was a longtime sports editor of the Richmond News Leader from 1947 to 1968. During his tenure, the Richmond area watched local sports go beyond high school competition. Leonard began his promotion of local sports in North Carolina,…
In the writing world, there is quantity in the number of stories a writer can produce every year, and there is quality in the certain degree of excellence in those stories. In modern journalism, it is rare to find a…
From out of the North he came. That one index finger typing away at an unbelievable pace and producing crisp, passionate words. We honor George McClelland, the Bowdoin College-educated wordsmith from Teaneck, N.J. His lyrical prose and love of statistics…
Born, raised and educated in Roanoke, Virginia, Bob McLelland worked for the Roanoke Times & World News from 1949 to 1980 filling the shoes of sports writer, sports editor and metro editor. His gifted writing and prize-winning columns earned him…
A native of Norfolk, Calvin Jacox served for 25 years as a columnist and later sports editor for the Journal & Guide, at one time the largest African-American publication south of Washington D.C. He is remembered as a crusader in…
Bill Cochran, a lifetime resident of Roanoke, is this year’s media inductee. Cochran began writing about the outdoors while at William Fleming High School. Following his graduation from Lynchburg College in 1960, his byline appeared more than 300 times in…