Legendary sports journalist Claire Smith will receive The National Associated of Black Journalists Legacy Award at this summer’s 36th Annual Convention and Career Fair in Philadelphia.
Smith was a baseball beat writer for over 20 years before she joined ESPN in July 2007 as a news editor, working with the production teams on MLB broadcasts. She previously worked for the Philadelphia Bulletin, Hartford Courant, New York Times, and Philadelphia Inquirer.
“Claire Smith is one of our best and brightest, a true trailblazer befitting of our annual Legacy Award, one of our organizations highest honors,” said NABJ President Kathy Y. Times. “Claire has been a pioneer for women in sports journalism, and her career in baseball is second to none. She is most deserving.”
Smith is the author of Don Baylor: Nothing But The Truth, a Baseball Life, an autobiography on the former player and manager. Former MLB commissioner Fay Vincent also invited Smith to participate in a groundbreaking oral history project to benefit the Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown.
“Claire Smith epitomizes the true meaning of this the award. She has created a legacy and is a pioneer covering Major League Baseball. She fought through sitting in a white male-dominated press box with grace and dignity to tell the stories of America’s favorite pastime,” said NABJ Treasurer and Sports Task Force Chair, Gregory Lee. “NABJ, and in particular the NABJ Sports Task Force, owes her a great debt for her work representing us.”