Tennessee has a rich tradition of great sportswriters and broadcasters, from Grantland Rice to Lindsey Nelson. Among that elite and articulate gang is Knoxville native Ben Byrd, who was sports reporter and sports editor with “The Knoxville Journal” from 1947 until its final issue in 1991.
A gifted writer who is well respected in and out of his profession, Ben was named Tennessee Sportswriter of the Year five times, and won the Southern League Service Award in 1987. In addition to his membership in the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame, Byrd was inducted into the Knoxville Sports Hall of Fame in 1987.
Not just a newspaper writer, Byrd is also the author of three books: “The Basketball Vols”, written in 1975; a biography of country music legend Archie Campbell written in 1981; and “You Can Go Home Again” , a collaborative autobiography of former Tennessee Head Football Coach Johnny Majors finished in 1986.
As newspaper journalist, Byrd covered the big ones: from Olympic games in Montreal and Los Angeles to the Masters for four decades; from numerous Kentucky Derbys to NIT and NCAA tournaments.
And of course, Byrd covered Tennessee football and basketball. Some UT fans probably still remember him as co-host of the Ray Mears Show in the 1960s. A UT alumnus himself, who had also graduated from Young High School, the great sportswriter Ben Byrd is Knoxville through and through. And Knoxville wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.