If you don’t know the name Claire Smith, you need to for she’s a pioneer in sports journalism.
Now, after a long and decorated career in sports media, Smith added another accolade to her trendsetting resume: Co-Director of the Claire Smith Center for Sports Media at Temple University.
Yes, Claire Smith will lead a sports media center named after her.
“The Claire Smith Center will prepare Temple students for the fast-changing world of sports media, giving them a solid foundation in the values personified by Claire: ethics, integrity, and excellence,” said David Boardman, dean of the Klein College, in a statement.
Smith, a 1979 Temple grad, was the first woman to be honored by the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
The Pennsylvania native studied journalism at the university and worked in the state for the Bucks County Courier and the Philadelphia Evening Bulletin.
In 1982 she made history by moving to the Hartford Courant to cover the New York Yankees. That made her the first woman to receive a full-time assignment to cover baseball.
In 1990, she became the New York Times’ national baseball writer before returning home as an editor and columnist for The Inquirer from 1998 to 2007. She also worked as a news editor for ESPN during that time as well.
Claire Smith’s climb up the sports media ladder wasn’t easy, especially in baseball.
In 1984, the San Diego Padres barred her from the clubhouse after Game 1 of the National League Championship Series.
It was an embarrassing and frustrating moment for sure, but one that changed quickly when Padres’ first baseman, Steve Garvey, agreed to speak with Smith outside of the clubhouse.
That interview opened the door for her Hall of Fame career in the sport and she ran through it, keeping it open over the following decades for others to follow her through.
Now she and former Philadelphia 76ers play-by-play announcer Marc Zumoff will be helping aspiring sports media talent realize their dreams at the place where it all first started for her.
“With Claire Smith, Marc Zumoff, and the outstanding faculty members who are already teaching sports media at Klein, our students will have unparalleled opportunities to learn, and to become the Claire Smiths and Marc Zumoffs of the future.” said Boardman.
Smith is well known in the industry and extremely well respected. The latter is obvious by the big names who have donated to Temple’s Klein College of Media and Communication to help establish the Claire Smith Media Center.
The list includes MLB, who donated $350,000, ESPN, Stephen A. Smith, the Philadelphia Phillies, Dodgers’ manager Dave Roberts and Astros’ manager Dusty Baker.
“Claire Smith is the embodiment of excellence, integrity and professionalism,” said Rob Manfred, commissioner of baseball, in a statement. “She is the perfect person to name a program after for generations of students to emulate. Major League Baseball is honored to support the Claire Smith Center for Sports Media to help educate a diverse student body to follow the outstanding example of a true trailblazer.”
After suffering through periods of verbal and physical abuse while breaking into the industry, Claire Smith breaks ground on an establishment with her name that aims to help new generations of sportswriters get their break.
A much deserved and well-earned honor.
