Lacy-Smith Award
Established in 2013 by The Shirley Povich Center for Sports Journalism, the Sam Lacy-Wendell Smith Award is presented annually to a sports journalist or broadcaster who has made significant contributions to racial and gender equality in sports.
The award is named after Sam Lacy and Wendell Smith, Black sportswriters who spent much of their journalism careers advocating for fairness, equality and justice in sports. The winner is chosen by a committee composed of members of the Povich Center Advisory Board.
Past Winners Include
2024-25: Kevin Blackistone
2023-24: Jim Trotter
2022-23: Christine Brennan
2021-22: John Smallwood
2018-19: Bob Costas
2017-18: Michael Wilbon
2016-17: Bill Rhoden
2014-15: James Brown
2013-14: Claire Smith
About Sam Lacy and Wendell Smith
Sam Lacy was an African-American and Native American sportswriter who was a reporter, columnist, editor and TV/Radio host. He worked for the Washington Tribune, the Chicago Defender and the Baltimore Afro-American where he wrote about baseball’s need for integration and Jackie Robinson’s ascent to the Major Leagues. He was the first African-American member of the Baseball Writers of America Association. He won the Red Smith Award for contributions to sports journalism in 1998. Lacy died in 2003 at the age of 99.
Wendell Smith was an African-American sportswriter who covered the Negro leagues for many African-American newspapers and boxing for the Chicago Tribune. He was also a TV sports anchor in Chicago and sports columnist for the Chicago Sun-Times. Smith was a chronicler of Jackie Robinson for the Pittsburgh Courier and is credited with encouraging Branch Rickey to give Robinson an opportunity to play in the major leagues. Smith died in 1972 at the age of 58.