Honoring a good boss and a great friend

This weekend, my wife and I will have the pleasure of attending the induction ceremony for the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame in Birmingham.
There are some big names going into the Hall this year: Shaun Alexander, the great Alabama running back; Frank Thomas, the former Auburn tight end who went on to be a perennial major league baseball all-star; and Jeff Rutledge, a former Alabama and NFL quarterback.
It will be great to see all of those folks and others honored.
But the biggest name on the inductee list for me is someone maybe most people wouldn’t recognize as quickly as the three listed above.
His name is Jimmy Smothers.
To put it simply, Jimmy was my first professional boss.
But it goes much deeper than that.
Jimmy spent a lifetime as sports editor of the Gadsden Times. He’s now retired, though he still contributes to that paper as its sports editor emeritus.
Jimmy hired me to his staff basically right out of college.
I did a brief internship at the now defunct Gwinnett Daily News before I got the call from Jimmy, who I’d met a few months earlier when I was trying to nail down an internship.
Those few months at the Gwinnett paper — writing about city council meetings and soap box derby races — and a few articles I’d written for the school paper in college were the only experience I had.
Translation — no experience.
For some reason, though, Jimmy Smothers took a chance.
I’m not sure what he saw in me. I’m not sure why I deserved a shot to learn from someone — then and now — considered one of the best sports writers ever in this state. It must have been a God thing.
I spent the first two years of my professional career at the Gadsden Times, then I returned for three more years after a brief hiatus in my home state of Georgia.
The memories I have of that time in my life are indelible.
I didn’t really know anyone when I arrived in Gadsden. That’s pretty scary as a kid right out of college.
When I left to take a job in Montgomery in 1998, I had many great friends both in and out of the newspaper business. I now look back on those days at the Gadsden Times as some of the best in my professional life.
I learned a lot there — certainly about the newspaper business. Anything I’ve accomplished since in this profession can be directly linked to my Gadsden experience.
I also learned about life in general.
All of that can be attributed to Jimmy Smothers.
Here’s a guy who was and is larger than life in my chosen profession. He didn’t have to spend time with a green reporter just out of college. At that time, unlike this business now, he would have had many other options to hire I’m sure. But I was lucky.
Not only did Jimmy hire me, he showed me everything he knew about the business. He taught me a work ethic that I still have today. He taught me how to write a good story, to work on deadline, to interview people.
Jimmy and I spent countless hours together — on the road, in the office, at various stadiums around the SEC. I got to cover the Atlanta Braves in the World Series, got to meet Andre Agassi and followed Auburn and Alabama to numerous bowl games and NCAA basketball tournaments while I worked for Jimmy and because I worked for him.
As I look back on it now, the whole time I think Jimmy was coaching me. He was giving me little tips along the way, showing me how to do things in our business even if, at that time, maybe I didn’t quite recognize it.
He knew a lot more than I did, obviously.
I think the unique thing was he never acted like he did.
Jimmy was my boss then. He quickly became my friend.
He still is today.
Jimmy also was my biggest fan.
He never wanted me to leave, but he sure did support me when I did — both times.
As I sit here I could write about all the numerous awards he’s won, all the halls of fame he already has been inducted to. Those things make Jimmy great at his profession.
The things I know about Jimmy make him a great person.
So, Jimmy, it will be my incredible privilege to sit alongside our friends John Alred, Greg Bailey, Michael Southern and others Saturday night at the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame induction.
It’s a long overdue and well-deserved honor for you.
And Jimmy, on this day, I’ll be your biggest fan.
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you 1,000 times.
And God Bless.