Is this the official Red Smith Award website?

No. It is an independent, fan-made archive and is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Associated Press Sports Editors, who administer the award. Names are used for identification and commentary only.

Where do the facts come from?

From public reference material, principally the recipients’ Wikipedia entries and published obituaries and profiles, cited at the foot of each page. Opinions and framing are our own.

Walter Wellesley “Red” Smith was an American newspaper columnist widely regarded as one of the finest sportswriters of the 20th century. The award is named for him, and he was its first recipient in 1981.

About this archive — The Red Smith Award

01What this is

This site is a fan-made archive of the Red Smith Award — sports journalism’s highest honor, presented since 1981 by the Associated Press Sports Editors. It keeps one page for each recipient, pairing the verifiable record of their career with a plainly written account of the work that earned the award. The aim is simple: to keep the roll of honor, and the people on it, in one place and on the record.

The site occupies the domain redsmithaward.com, which previously hosted a related site about the award. This archive is a new and independent compilation. It does not reproduce the earlier site’s material.

02What this is not

This is not the official site of the award. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to the Associated Press Sports Editors, who administer the Red Smith Award, nor with the estate of Red Smith. Nothing here should be read as an official statement of the organization.

The names of the recipients, their newspapers and their honors belong to the people and institutions that hold them. They are used here for identification, reference and commentary — the ordinary business of writing about journalism.

03How the profiles are written

Every profile is original writing. The hard facts — award year, dates, newspapers, beats — are checked against public reference material, and each page names its sources at the foot. The judgement about a writer’s work is ours, and we try to keep it specific and fair. For living recipients we stick to the public record.

The archive is a work in progress and grows page by page. Where a recipient was an editor or executive rather than a bylined writer, the public record is thinner, and the page reflects that honestly rather than inventing detail.

Questions people ask

Is this the official Red Smith Award website?: No. It is an independent, fan-made archive and is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Associated Press Sports Editors, who administer the award. Names are used for identification and commentary only.
Where do the facts come from?: From public reference material, principally the recipients’ Wikipedia entries and published obituaries and profiles, cited at the foot of each page. Opinions and framing are our own.
Who was Red Smith?: Walter Wellesley “Red” Smith was an American newspaper columnist widely regarded as one of the finest sportswriters of the 20th century. The award is named for him, and he was its first recipient in 1981.

Sources

Entered September 11, 2026. How this page is sourced: see the sources and method.