Fred Russell
Encyclopedia
Fred Russell was an American sports writer prominent in the Golden Era of Sports in the 20th century. He was a lifelong resident of Nashville, Tennessee
and was sports editor and later Vice-President of the Nashville Banner
daily newspaper.
Russell is a member of the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Hall of Fame and the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame. One of his most enduring legacies was his influence on collegiate sports, specifically as Chairman of the Honors Court of the College Football Hall of Fame
for 29 years. The Honors Court determines the inductees to the Hall of Fame.
As a journalist, he was known for his dedication, fairness and positive writing style. He was also known for his unprejudiced coverage of all people regardless of race, creed or religion. In addition, Russell was known for his sports humor and practical jokes. He published three books of sports humor in the 1940s.
Russell was a protege and friend of famed sportswriter Grantland Rice
. Both Rice and Russell were from Middle Tennessee
and both attended and graduated from Vanderbilt University
in Nashville.
He was contracted by the United States Government during World War II to write entertainment books for the American troops. He was on the forefront of progressive, visionary journalism promoting African-American minorities in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, especially during the Civil Rights era. He covered these important people and figures when many other journalists would not.
of sports, Russell was sports editor of the Nashville Banner
for 68 years, from 1930-1998. In an era when newspapers were the primary form of information to the public, well before television was popular, Freddie Russell was a local legend in Middle Tennessee and was well known in the sports world throughout the nation.
He was well known and popular as a writer, however he was also a charismatic public speaker, Russell was widely regarded throughout the South as one of the foremost authorities on the world of sports. Noted for his humor and occasional practical jokes, he was a classic storyteller who could hold any size audience captive.
Russell had a positive and optimistic writing style, always focused on the good side of the story, person and group. He was respected as a gentleman, always promoting and recognizing the dignity of all people. According to one longtime colleague, Joe Biddle, who Russell hired and mentored, he had the uncanny ability of making others feel more important than himself.
Russell was one of the primary journalists who covered the Tennessee State University
Tigerbelles track team in their amazing success in the 1960 Olympics in Rome
. Russell and TSU coach Ed Temple
remained friends throughout their lives. Wilma Rudolph
, who is originally from the town of Clarksville
near Nashville, was one of the heroes of the 1960 Olympics.
, outside of Nashville, the Russell parents and their two sons moved to Nashville when the young Fred was six years old. Russell attended the prestigious Duncan Preparatory School in Nashville. Duncan School at that time was located on the present-day campus of Vanderbilt University, next to Memorial Gymnasium. There is an Historical Marker at that location.
Russell then attended Vanderbilt University
Class of 1927 in Nashville. At Vanderbilt, Russell was a good student, a member of the Kappa Chapter of Kappa Sigma Fraternity, and a varsity baseball player. He later attended Vanderbilt Law School.
In 1929, Russell was hired for the police beat by the Nashville Banner
. The following year, Russell became the Sports Editor of the Banner, replacing Ralph McGill
. Russell would be a member of the Banner staff until the paper closed in 1998. Over the next 68 years, Russell wrote over 12,000 columns, mostly in a column named Sidelines.
Russell covered the major sports in America for over 65 years. His heyday was the Golden Age of sports—the 1930s to the 1950s—when newspapers were the principal form of media and news, before television and money became the central emphasis of modern sports. While Russell was always focused on covering Tennessee and southern athletics first, he nonetheless was well-known nationally and had a unique insight into the growth and expansion of athletics in the nation.
The sports and events he annually and regularly covered and contributed to were: college football; amateur and pro baseball; the Masters Golf Tournament; the Kentucky Derby; championship boxing; college football bowl games, including The Sugar Bowl and The Rose Bowl; and The Olympic Games (1960–1976).
Russell gained national notoriety in the 1940s and 1950s for writing one of the most popular annual college football previews, the Pigskin Preview, for The Saturday Evening Post, one of the most popular magazines of that day. He covered the major Bowl Games throughout the decades. Russell was one of the principle journalists involved in the growth and popularity college football, the Southeastern Conference and the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).
Russell and his friends and colleagues often played practical jokes on unsuspecting victims. In one instance, Russell and company had an acquaintance who wore the same felt hat daily to lunch. The group bought the identical hat in a size one inch smaller and spent several weeks trading the hats back and forth.
Many times, Russell would talk a friend into pulling a gag on someone, thereby relieving Russell of direct blame. They would move balls to bad lies during golf rounds, imitate important people in prank phone calls and engage in innocent jokes to entertain themselves and others. Russell also had a unique language which sounded somewhat like Chinese that he would use to entertain, or baffle, unsuspecting listeners.
Once, when writing his annual "Pigskin Preview" for The Saturday Evening Post
, Russell arrived on the campus of West Point
in New York, only to immediately receive news from an officer in a jeep that there was artillery in the area and to seek cover. Russell and his escort dove behind the nearest roadside hill, receiving heavy artillery, only to find out later it was staged with artillery blanks. Russell had the tables turned on him.
Russell's memorabilia, including his personal items, photographs, awards, honors, are in several locations in Nashville. These locations include The Nashville Downtown Public Library Nashville Banner History Room and Exhibit; the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame; and The Brentwood Academy exhibit room in Brentwood, Tennessee.
. He completed his 70th year as a journalist in 1999, then retired. Russell penned his last sports column for the multi-author book Nashville: An American Self-Portrait in 2001. His byline thus appeared in nine different decades.
, and the two had similar styles as writers and people. Rice was originally from Murfreesboro, Tennessee, and he worked as a sportswriter in Nashville before joining the New York Herald (later Herald Tribune) from 1911-1930.
Many in the world of sports and sports journalism consider Russell to be another one of the deans and pioneers of American sportswriters. Always possessing the qualities of a gentleman, Russell was focused on the craft of writing and reporting and his legacy of promoting the people, groups and teams that he covered.
, Coach Paul 'Bear' Bryant
, Red Sanders and many others. Russell actually helped Bryant get one of his first assistant coaching jobs at Vanderbilt. The two remained lifelong friends. Red Sanders was the Head Football Coach at Vanderbilt before going to UCLA, and both were also lifelong friends.
As a longtime baseball writer, especially in the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s, Russell often spent as long as a month covering spring training each year. He and fellow sportswriters such as Red Smith and Bill Corum would often travel together and stay with players in Florida (at hotels like the Soreno Hotel in St. Petersburg). Russell became friends with many of the notable baseball stars of that era, as he covered legendary teams like the Yankees, the New York Giants and the Brooklyn Dodgers. Even into the later years of his career, he was highly regarded by the legends of baseball, from Tommy Lasorda to Bowie Kuhn to Joe Dimaggio.
Russel covered the inaugural and then over 40 Masters golf tournaments in Augusta, Georgia
, all the while remaining friends with Bobby Jones
and the other golf pioneers of the day. He covered major championship boxing and was a friend and contemporary of Heavyweight Champion Jack Dempsey.
At the 25th Anniversary of Russell’s career at the Nashville Banner, many paid tribute to Russell. The 1955 celebration included stars such as football greats Red Grange
and Bear Bryant, Bobby Jones and Jack Dempsey
, as well as writer Red Smith
from New York, all attending to honor their friend Freddie Russell.
He of course impacted those he worked with daily, including longtime Banner reporters such as Waxo Green, Edgar Allen, George Leonard, Joe Biddle and many others. He was the primary Nashville and Middle Tennessee sports man for most of the 50-plus years he was the Sports Editor at the Banner, having close friendships with the notable Nashville sports leaders of the era, such as Ed Temple
, Larry Schmittou, future SEC Commissioner Roy Kramer
and many others. He was always the primary 'go-to' guy for Vanderbilt athletics for those years as well.
He has influenced many young people through the TRA Rice-Russell Scholarship. Many well-known writers today were Rice-Russell scholars, including Roy Blount, Skip Bayless
and others. Many other sportswriters such as Doug Segrest (Birmingham News) and Lee Jenkins count Russell as a mentor and friend. Segrest began his career at the Banner.
Russell was a mentor of ESPN's Buster Olney
, who attended Vanderbilt and began his career as a reporter for the Banner before his ascension to the top of the sports reporting world.
Russell influenced literally countless young people and young men through the years. As one of the foremost authorities on college football for much of the 1940s and 1950s, Russell was contemporaries and friends with many of the top coaches and administrators.
As the Chairman of the Honors Court of the College Football Hall of Fame for 29 years, Russell was the primary decision-maker regarding those who were inducted into the Hall of Fame. Many of those inducted credit Russell with their award and were grateful for his support and friendship.
He impacted countless Vanderbilt student-athletes through the years. Whether he was writing about them, promoting their careers and endeavors, becoming friends with them as they entered the professional world, and/or welcoming them back to Vanderbilt through the years, Russell was the mainstay of the Vanderbilt community.
One example is Art Demmas
, legendary NFL umpire for 29 years. Demmas today is the Southern Region Chairman of the National Football Foundation. Demmas and Russell worked together for 42 years as the primary founders and leaders of the Middle Tennessee Chapter of the NFF, which today is one of the biggest Chapters of the NFF.
Demmas was a star football player for Vanderbilt in the 1950s. Early in his career, Demmas was a high school referee and got to know Russell. Later, Russell helped Demmas get a position as a college football referee. After working for several years at the college level, Demmas was recruited into the NFL as an umpire and later became an official.
Another example is Nashville radio personality George Plaster
. Plaster counts Russell a great influence and a major reason for his success. Russell helped Plaster get his initial broadcasting position at Vanderbilt. Plaster went on to be the Broadcaster for Vanderbilt athletics. He moved into the sports talk show industry in Nashville, and today he is host of the top-rated and most popular sports talk show in Tennessee, The Zone on 104.5 FM
.
Russell also of course influenced his family members. His family members, including daughters, sons-in-law and grandchildren, have had careers in many fields, such as: public service, medicine, psychiatry, banking, manufacturing, business, law, journalism and others.
In 1954, the Grantland Rice Scholarship at Vanderbilt was begun in honor of Rice. Endowed by the Thoroughbred Racing Association (TRA), the scholarship is awarded annually to an incoming first-year student with an interest in sportswriting. Russell was from the beginning involved in the administration and selection process of the scholarship. Later, in 1984, the TRA and its president, Charles J. Cella
, endowed the scholarship in honor of Russell, making it the Fred Russell-Grantland Rice Sportswriting Scholarship. The scholarship is an annual award of $10,000 toward tuition at Vanderbilt.
Russell was elected to the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association Hall of Fame in 1988 and into the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame in 1974. At the time, he was only living sportswriter to receive the honor. He became a Charter Member of the Tennessee Sportswriters Hall of Fame in 2005.
Russell received the Distinguished American Award in 1980 given by the National Football Foundation
(NFF). The award is given for excellence in exhibiting superior qualities of scholarship, citizenship and leadership. Two of the previous winners of the award were Vince Lombardi
and Bob Hope
.
He was the Honor's Court Chairman of the College Football Foundation and Hall of Fame for 29 years. Russell is a past President of the Football Writers of America. He was also a member of the Heisman Trophy
Committee for 46 years and was the Southern chairman of the Heisman Trophy Committee for 30 years. Many members of the College Football Hall of Fame credit Russell with their election to the Hall.
Russell received the Amos Alonzo Stagg Award in 1981 from the American Football Coaches Association, that same year he was awarded the Bert McGrane Award from the Football Writers of America. In 1983, The National Turf Writers Association (horse-racing) awarded Russell the Walter Haight Award for Excellence in Turf Writing, he received the Red Smith Award
for his contributions to journalism in 1984.
In 1957, Russell received the inaugural Grantland Rice Memorial Award. The award was presented by the Sportsmanship Brotherhood of New York to the "sportswriter in the United States who in his writing most nearly approaches the Rice tradition." Russell was named to the Vanderbilt Athletics Hall of Fame as part of its inaugural class. Russell was awarded the Distinguished Journalism Award by the U.S. Olympic Committee in 1976.
Russell was awarded the Kappa Sigma Man of the Year in 1981. In his hometown of Nashville, Russell was a longtime member of the Nashville Metropolitan Board of Parks and Recreation. He was instrumental in the development of Nashville's many recreation and athletic facilities.
Awards named after Russell
In addition, the press box
at Vanderbilt Stadium
is named in honor of Russell.
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
and was sports editor and later Vice-President of the Nashville Banner
Nashville Banner
The Nashville Banner is a defunct daily newspaper of Nashville, Tennessee, United States, which published from April 10, 1876 until February 20, 1998...
daily newspaper.
Russell is a member of the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Hall of Fame and the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame. One of his most enduring legacies was his influence on collegiate sports, specifically as Chairman of the Honors Court of the College Football Hall of Fame
College Football Hall of Fame
The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and museum devoted to college football. Located in South Bend, Indiana, it is connected to a convention center and situated in the city's renovated downtown district, two miles south of the University of Notre Dame campus. It is slated to move...
for 29 years. The Honors Court determines the inductees to the Hall of Fame.
As a journalist, he was known for his dedication, fairness and positive writing style. He was also known for his unprejudiced coverage of all people regardless of race, creed or religion. In addition, Russell was known for his sports humor and practical jokes. He published three books of sports humor in the 1940s.
Russell was a protege and friend of famed sportswriter Grantland Rice
Grantland Rice
Grantland Rice was an early 20th century American sportswriter known for his elegant prose. His writing was published in newspapers around the country and broadcast on the radio.-Biography:...
. Both Rice and Russell were from Middle Tennessee
Middle Tennessee
Middle Tennessee is a distinct portion of the state of Tennessee, delineated according to state law as the 41 counties in the Middle Grand Division of Tennessee....
and both attended and graduated from Vanderbilt University
Vanderbilt University
Vanderbilt University is a private research university located in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1873, the university is named for shipping and rail magnate "Commodore" Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided Vanderbilt its initial $1 million endowment despite having never been to the...
in Nashville.
Family life
Russell and his wife Kathryn Early Russell were married for 63 years, until her passing in 1996. They have four children, all daughters, and eleven grandchildren. Russell worked past the age of 90 and lived until the age of 96.He was contracted by the United States Government during World War II to write entertainment books for the American troops. He was on the forefront of progressive, visionary journalism promoting African-American minorities in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, especially during the Civil Rights era. He covered these important people and figures when many other journalists would not.
Influence
An influential figure in the Golden AgeGolden Age
The term Golden Age comes from Greek mythology and legend and refers to the first in a sequence of four or five Ages of Man, in which the Golden Age is first, followed in sequence, by the Silver, Bronze, and Iron Ages, and then the present, a period of decline...
of sports, Russell was sports editor of the Nashville Banner
Nashville Banner
The Nashville Banner is a defunct daily newspaper of Nashville, Tennessee, United States, which published from April 10, 1876 until February 20, 1998...
for 68 years, from 1930-1998. In an era when newspapers were the primary form of information to the public, well before television was popular, Freddie Russell was a local legend in Middle Tennessee and was well known in the sports world throughout the nation.
He was well known and popular as a writer, however he was also a charismatic public speaker, Russell was widely regarded throughout the South as one of the foremost authorities on the world of sports. Noted for his humor and occasional practical jokes, he was a classic storyteller who could hold any size audience captive.
Russell had a positive and optimistic writing style, always focused on the good side of the story, person and group. He was respected as a gentleman, always promoting and recognizing the dignity of all people. According to one longtime colleague, Joe Biddle, who Russell hired and mentored, he had the uncanny ability of making others feel more important than himself.
Russell was one of the primary journalists who covered the Tennessee State University
Tennessee State University
Tennessee State University is a land-grant university located in Nashville, Tennessee. TSU is the only state-funded historically black university in Tennessee.-History:...
Tigerbelles track team in their amazing success in the 1960 Olympics in Rome
1960 Summer Olympics
The 1960 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVII Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event held from August 25 to September 11, 1960 in Rome, Italy...
. Russell and TSU coach Ed Temple
Ed Temple
Edward Stanley Temple is a women's track and field pioneer and coach. Temple was Head Women's Track and Field Coach at Tennessee State University for 44 years and was Head Coach of the U.S...
remained friends throughout their lives. Wilma Rudolph
Wilma Rudolph
Wilma Glodean Rudolph was an American athlete. Rudolph was considered the fastest woman in the world in the 1960s and competed in two Olympic Games, in 1956 and in 1960....
, who is originally from the town of Clarksville
Clarksville, Tennessee
Clarksville is a city in and the county seat of Montgomery County, Tennessee, United States, and the fifth largest city in the state. The population was 132,929 in 2010 United States Census...
near Nashville, was one of the heroes of the 1960 Olympics.
Early life
Russell was the favored sports scribe in Nashville for nearly 70 years. Originally from Wartrace, TennesseeWartrace, Tennessee
Wartrace is a town in Bedford County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 548 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Wartrace is located at ....
, outside of Nashville, the Russell parents and their two sons moved to Nashville when the young Fred was six years old. Russell attended the prestigious Duncan Preparatory School in Nashville. Duncan School at that time was located on the present-day campus of Vanderbilt University, next to Memorial Gymnasium. There is an Historical Marker at that location.
Russell then attended Vanderbilt University
Vanderbilt University
Vanderbilt University is a private research university located in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1873, the university is named for shipping and rail magnate "Commodore" Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided Vanderbilt its initial $1 million endowment despite having never been to the...
Class of 1927 in Nashville. At Vanderbilt, Russell was a good student, a member of the Kappa Chapter of Kappa Sigma Fraternity, and a varsity baseball player. He later attended Vanderbilt Law School.
In 1929, Russell was hired for the police beat by the Nashville Banner
Nashville Banner
The Nashville Banner is a defunct daily newspaper of Nashville, Tennessee, United States, which published from April 10, 1876 until February 20, 1998...
. The following year, Russell became the Sports Editor of the Banner, replacing Ralph McGill
Ralph McGill
Ralph Emerson McGill , American journalist, was best known as the anti-segregationist editor and publisher of the Atlanta Constitution newspaper. He won a Pulitzer Prize for editorial writing in 1959....
. Russell would be a member of the Banner staff until the paper closed in 1998. Over the next 68 years, Russell wrote over 12,000 columns, mostly in a column named Sidelines.
Golden Age of Sports
The sports and events he annually and regularly covered and contributed to were: college football; amateur and pro baseball; the Masters Golf Tournament; the Kentucky Derby; championship boxing; college football bowl games, including The Sugar Bowl and The Rose Bowl; and The Olympic Games (1960–1976).
Russell gained national notoriety in the 1940s and 1950s for writing one of the most popular annual college football previews, the Pigskin Preview, for The Saturday Evening Post, one of the most popular magazines of that day. He covered the major Bowl Games throughout the decades. Russell was one of the principle journalists involved in the growth and popularity college football, the Southeastern Conference and the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).
Humor and practical jokes
Among Russell's trademarks was his emphasis on the lighter, humorous side of sports as well as his penchant for playing practical jokes. His three sports humor books, I'll Go Quietly (1944), I'll Try Anything Twice (1945) and Funny Thing About Sports (1948) were collections of humorous quotes, jokes, anecdotes and stories from the world of sports. The first two were published specifically for American troops in World War II, before television and radio were able to entertain troops abroad.Russell and his friends and colleagues often played practical jokes on unsuspecting victims. In one instance, Russell and company had an acquaintance who wore the same felt hat daily to lunch. The group bought the identical hat in a size one inch smaller and spent several weeks trading the hats back and forth.
Many times, Russell would talk a friend into pulling a gag on someone, thereby relieving Russell of direct blame. They would move balls to bad lies during golf rounds, imitate important people in prank phone calls and engage in innocent jokes to entertain themselves and others. Russell also had a unique language which sounded somewhat like Chinese that he would use to entertain, or baffle, unsuspecting listeners.
Once, when writing his annual "Pigskin Preview" for The Saturday Evening Post
The Saturday Evening Post
The Saturday Evening Post is a bimonthly American magazine. It was published weekly under this title from 1897 until 1969, and quarterly and then bimonthly from 1971.-History:...
, Russell arrived on the campus of West Point
United States Military Academy
The United States Military Academy at West Point is a four-year coeducational federal service academy located at West Point, New York. The academy sits on scenic high ground overlooking the Hudson River, north of New York City...
in New York, only to immediately receive news from an officer in a jeep that there was artillery in the area and to seek cover. Russell and his escort dove behind the nearest roadside hill, receiving heavy artillery, only to find out later it was staged with artillery blanks. Russell had the tables turned on him.
Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame
Russell was instrumental in the formation and history of the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame, honoring those who have excelled in contribution to sports in Tennessee. In 2003, the Hall began the Fred Russell Distinguished American Award, given annually to a Tennessean who has exhibited excellence in their contribution to sports.Russell's memorabilia, including his personal items, photographs, awards, honors, are in several locations in Nashville. These locations include The Nashville Downtown Public Library Nashville Banner History Room and Exhibit; the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame; and The Brentwood Academy exhibit room in Brentwood, Tennessee.
End of Banner
In 1998, the Banner folded and it was assumed that the 92-year-old Russell would retire. Instead he was hired to write a weekly column for The TennesseanThe Tennessean
The Tennessean is the principal daily newspaper in Nashville, Tennessee, USA. Its circulation area covers 39 counties in Middle Tennessee and eight counties in southern Kentucky....
. He completed his 70th year as a journalist in 1999, then retired. Russell penned his last sports column for the multi-author book Nashville: An American Self-Portrait in 2001. His byline thus appeared in nine different decades.
Grantland Rice
Grantland Rice has long been considered the dean of American sportswriters. Rice and Russell were longtime colleagues and shared many similarities. They were both fellow Tennesseans and graduates of Vanderbilt UniversityVanderbilt University
Vanderbilt University is a private research university located in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1873, the university is named for shipping and rail magnate "Commodore" Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided Vanderbilt its initial $1 million endowment despite having never been to the...
, and the two had similar styles as writers and people. Rice was originally from Murfreesboro, Tennessee, and he worked as a sportswriter in Nashville before joining the New York Herald (later Herald Tribune) from 1911-1930.
Many in the world of sports and sports journalism consider Russell to be another one of the deans and pioneers of American sportswriters. Always possessing the qualities of a gentleman, Russell was focused on the craft of writing and reporting and his legacy of promoting the people, groups and teams that he covered.
Others
In football, Russell was a contemporary and friend of Gen. Bob NeylandRobert Neyland
Robert Reese Neyland, MBE was an American football player and coach and and officer in the United States Army, reaching the rank of brigadier general. He served three stints as the head football coach as the University of Tennessee...
, Coach Paul 'Bear' Bryant
Bear Bryant
Paul William "Bear" Bryant was an American college football player and coach. He was best known as the longtime head coach of the University of Alabama football team. During his 25-year tenure as Alabama's head coach, he amassed six national championships and thirteen conference championships...
, Red Sanders and many others. Russell actually helped Bryant get one of his first assistant coaching jobs at Vanderbilt. The two remained lifelong friends. Red Sanders was the Head Football Coach at Vanderbilt before going to UCLA, and both were also lifelong friends.
As a longtime baseball writer, especially in the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s, Russell often spent as long as a month covering spring training each year. He and fellow sportswriters such as Red Smith and Bill Corum would often travel together and stay with players in Florida (at hotels like the Soreno Hotel in St. Petersburg). Russell became friends with many of the notable baseball stars of that era, as he covered legendary teams like the Yankees, the New York Giants and the Brooklyn Dodgers. Even into the later years of his career, he was highly regarded by the legends of baseball, from Tommy Lasorda to Bowie Kuhn to Joe Dimaggio.
Russel covered the inaugural and then over 40 Masters golf tournaments in Augusta, Georgia
Augusta, Georgia
Augusta is a consolidated city in the U.S. state of Georgia, located along the Savannah River. As of the 2010 census, the Augusta–Richmond County population was 195,844 not counting the unconsolidated cities of Hephzibah and Blythe.Augusta is the principal city of the Augusta-Richmond County...
, all the while remaining friends with Bobby Jones
Bobby Jones (golfer)
Robert Tyre "Bobby" Jones Jr. was an American amateur golfer, and a lawyer by profession. Jones was the most successful amateur golfer ever to compete on a national and international level...
and the other golf pioneers of the day. He covered major championship boxing and was a friend and contemporary of Heavyweight Champion Jack Dempsey.
At the 25th Anniversary of Russell’s career at the Nashville Banner, many paid tribute to Russell. The 1955 celebration included stars such as football greats Red Grange
Red Grange
Harold Edward "Red" Grange, nicknamed "The Galloping Ghost", was a college and professional American football halfback for the University of Illinois, the Chicago Bears, and for the short-lived New York Yankees. His signing with the Bears helped legitimize the National Football League...
and Bear Bryant, Bobby Jones and Jack Dempsey
Jack Dempsey
William Harrison "Jack" Dempsey was an American boxer who held the world heavyweight title from 1919 to 1926. Dempsey's aggressive style and exceptional punching power made him one of the most popular boxers in history. Many of his fights set financial and attendance records, including the first...
, as well as writer Red Smith
Red Smith
Red Smith may refer to:* Red Smith , 1910s baseball third baseman* Red Smith , Pittsburgh Pirates catcher, 1917–1918* Red Smith , MLB shortstop in the 1925 season...
from New York, all attending to honor their friend Freddie Russell.
His legacy
Russell's influence on the world of sports is evident in Nashville, in the state of Tennessee and beyond. Those who knew him often speak of him as a great mentor and friend.He of course impacted those he worked with daily, including longtime Banner reporters such as Waxo Green, Edgar Allen, George Leonard, Joe Biddle and many others. He was the primary Nashville and Middle Tennessee sports man for most of the 50-plus years he was the Sports Editor at the Banner, having close friendships with the notable Nashville sports leaders of the era, such as Ed Temple
Ed Temple
Edward Stanley Temple is a women's track and field pioneer and coach. Temple was Head Women's Track and Field Coach at Tennessee State University for 44 years and was Head Coach of the U.S...
, Larry Schmittou, future SEC Commissioner Roy Kramer
Roy Kramer
-External links:*...
and many others. He was always the primary 'go-to' guy for Vanderbilt athletics for those years as well.
He has influenced many young people through the TRA Rice-Russell Scholarship. Many well-known writers today were Rice-Russell scholars, including Roy Blount, Skip Bayless
Skip Bayless
Skip Bayless is an American journalist and television personality. Bayless regularly appears on ESPN2's ESPN First Take and its afternoon show 1st and 10. Bayless previously wrote regular columns for ESPN.com and its "Page 2" section.-Schooling and family:Bayless was born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma...
and others. Many other sportswriters such as Doug Segrest (Birmingham News) and Lee Jenkins count Russell as a mentor and friend. Segrest began his career at the Banner.
Russell was a mentor of ESPN's Buster Olney
Buster Olney
Robert Stanbury "Buster" Olney III is a columnist for ESPN: The Magazine, ESPN.com, and covered the New York Giants and New York Yankees for The New York Times. He is also a regular analyst for the ESPN's Baseball Tonight...
, who attended Vanderbilt and began his career as a reporter for the Banner before his ascension to the top of the sports reporting world.
Russell influenced literally countless young people and young men through the years. As one of the foremost authorities on college football for much of the 1940s and 1950s, Russell was contemporaries and friends with many of the top coaches and administrators.
As the Chairman of the Honors Court of the College Football Hall of Fame for 29 years, Russell was the primary decision-maker regarding those who were inducted into the Hall of Fame. Many of those inducted credit Russell with their award and were grateful for his support and friendship.
He impacted countless Vanderbilt student-athletes through the years. Whether he was writing about them, promoting their careers and endeavors, becoming friends with them as they entered the professional world, and/or welcoming them back to Vanderbilt through the years, Russell was the mainstay of the Vanderbilt community.
One example is Art Demmas
Art Demmas
Art Demmas was an American Professional Football on-field official for 28 seasons. He was in the American Football League in 1968 and 1969 and in the NFL from the 1970 to 1996 NFL season. During his career as a Professional Football official, Demmas was assigned to four Super Bowls , all as an...
, legendary NFL umpire for 29 years. Demmas today is the Southern Region Chairman of the National Football Foundation. Demmas and Russell worked together for 42 years as the primary founders and leaders of the Middle Tennessee Chapter of the NFF, which today is one of the biggest Chapters of the NFF.
Demmas was a star football player for Vanderbilt in the 1950s. Early in his career, Demmas was a high school referee and got to know Russell. Later, Russell helped Demmas get a position as a college football referee. After working for several years at the college level, Demmas was recruited into the NFL as an umpire and later became an official.
Another example is Nashville radio personality George Plaster
George Plaster
George Plaster is the former host of The Sports Zone, a daily afternoon sports talk radio program broadcasting on WGFX-FM in Nashville, Tennessee. Plaster had hosted the show since shortly after its 2003 inception, and for ten years prior, hosted SportsNight, a similar program on WWTN-FM...
. Plaster counts Russell a great influence and a major reason for his success. Russell helped Plaster get his initial broadcasting position at Vanderbilt. Plaster went on to be the Broadcaster for Vanderbilt athletics. He moved into the sports talk show industry in Nashville, and today he is host of the top-rated and most popular sports talk show in Tennessee, The Zone on 104.5 FM
WGFX
WGFX is a radio station broadcasting on the FM band at 104.5 MHz licensed to the city of Gallatin, Tennessee, but serving the Nashville market as a whole. It is currently branded as 104.5 The Zone, broadcasting a sports talk format. It is owned by Cumulus Media and operates out of studios on Second...
.
Russell also of course influenced his family members. His family members, including daughters, sons-in-law and grandchildren, have had careers in many fields, such as: public service, medicine, psychiatry, banking, manufacturing, business, law, journalism and others.
Major awards and honors
- See also List of major awards and honors
In 1954, the Grantland Rice Scholarship at Vanderbilt was begun in honor of Rice. Endowed by the Thoroughbred Racing Association (TRA), the scholarship is awarded annually to an incoming first-year student with an interest in sportswriting. Russell was from the beginning involved in the administration and selection process of the scholarship. Later, in 1984, the TRA and its president, Charles J. Cella
Charles J. Cella
Charles J. Cella is president of Southern Real Estate and Financial Company, an executive in the American Thoroughbred horse racing industry, and a racehorse owner....
, endowed the scholarship in honor of Russell, making it the Fred Russell-Grantland Rice Sportswriting Scholarship. The scholarship is an annual award of $10,000 toward tuition at Vanderbilt.
Russell was elected to the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association Hall of Fame in 1988 and into the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame in 1974. At the time, he was only living sportswriter to receive the honor. He became a Charter Member of the Tennessee Sportswriters Hall of Fame in 2005.
Russell received the Distinguished American Award in 1980 given by the National Football Foundation
National Football Foundation
The National Football Foundation is a non-profit organization founded in 1947 by General Douglas MacArthur, legendary Army Black Knights football coach Earl "Red" Blaik and journalist Grantland Rice...
(NFF). The award is given for excellence in exhibiting superior qualities of scholarship, citizenship and leadership. Two of the previous winners of the award were Vince Lombardi
Vince Lombardi
Vincent Thomas "Vince" Lombardi was an American football coach. He is best known as the head coach of the Green Bay Packers during the 1960s, where he led the team to three straight league championships and five in seven years, including winning the first two Super Bowls following the 1966 and...
and Bob Hope
Bob Hope
Bob Hope, KBE, KCSG, KSS was a British-born American comedian and actor who appeared in vaudeville, on Broadway, and in radio, television and movies. He was also noted for his work with the US Armed Forces and his numerous USO shows entertaining American military personnel...
.
He was the Honor's Court Chairman of the College Football Foundation and Hall of Fame for 29 years. Russell is a past President of the Football Writers of America. He was also a member of the Heisman Trophy
Heisman Trophy
The Heisman Memorial Trophy Award , is awarded annually to the player deemed the most outstanding player in collegiate football. It was created in 1935 as the Downtown Athletic Club trophy and renamed in 1936 following the death of the Club's athletic director, John Heisman The Heisman Memorial...
Committee for 46 years and was the Southern chairman of the Heisman Trophy Committee for 30 years. Many members of the College Football Hall of Fame credit Russell with their election to the Hall.
Russell received the Amos Alonzo Stagg Award in 1981 from the American Football Coaches Association, that same year he was awarded the Bert McGrane Award from the Football Writers of America. In 1983, The National Turf Writers Association (horse-racing) awarded Russell the Walter Haight Award for Excellence in Turf Writing, he received the Red Smith Award
Red Smith Award
The Red Smith Award is awarded by the Associated Press Sports Editors for outstanding contributions to sports journalism. It has been awarded annually at the APSE convention since 1981...
for his contributions to journalism in 1984.
In 1957, Russell received the inaugural Grantland Rice Memorial Award. The award was presented by the Sportsmanship Brotherhood of New York to the "sportswriter in the United States who in his writing most nearly approaches the Rice tradition." Russell was named to the Vanderbilt Athletics Hall of Fame as part of its inaugural class. Russell was awarded the Distinguished Journalism Award by the U.S. Olympic Committee in 1976.
Russell was awarded the Kappa Sigma Man of the Year in 1981. In his hometown of Nashville, Russell was a longtime member of the Nashville Metropolitan Board of Parks and Recreation. He was instrumental in the development of Nashville's many recreation and athletic facilities.
List of major awards and honors
- Tennessee Sportswriters Hall of Fame, Charter Member, 2005
- National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association Hall of Fame, 1988
- Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame, 1974
- Distinguished American Award, National Football FoundationNational Football FoundationThe National Football Foundation is a non-profit organization founded in 1947 by General Douglas MacArthur, legendary Army Black Knights football coach Earl "Red" Blaik and journalist Grantland Rice...
, 1980 - Chairman of the National Football Foundation Honors Court, 29 years total (College Football Hall of FameCollege Football Hall of FameThe College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and museum devoted to college football. Located in South Bend, Indiana, it is connected to a convention center and situated in the city's renovated downtown district, two miles south of the University of Notre Dame campus. It is slated to move...
Election Board) - Red Smith AwardRed Smith AwardThe Red Smith Award is awarded by the Associated Press Sports Editors for outstanding contributions to sports journalism. It has been awarded annually at the APSE convention since 1981...
, 1984 - Walter Haight Award for Excellence in Turf Writing, 1983
- Amos Alonzo Stagg AwardAmos Alonzo Stagg AwardThe Amos Alonzo Stagg Award is presented annually by the American Football Coaches Association to the “individual, group or institution whose services have been outstanding in the advancement of the best interests of football’’. Recipients receive a plaque which is a replica of the one given to...
, American Football Coaches AssociationAmerican Football Coaches AssociationThe American Football Coaches Association is an association of over 11,000 football coaches and staff on all levels. According to its constitution, some of the main goals of the American Football Coaches Association are to "maintain the highest possible standards in football and the profession of...
, 1981 - Bert McGrane Award, Football Writers of America, 1981
- Distinguished Journalism Award, U.S. Olympic Committee, 1976
- Golf Writers Association, 1972
- College Football Centennial Award, 1969
- Grantland Rice Memorial Award, Sportsmanship Brotherhood of New York, 1957
- Saturday Evening Post Senior Football Writer, 1939–1962
- Southern Chairman of the Heisman TrophyHeisman TrophyThe Heisman Memorial Trophy Award , is awarded annually to the player deemed the most outstanding player in collegiate football. It was created in 1935 as the Downtown Athletic Club trophy and renamed in 1936 following the death of the Club's athletic director, John Heisman The Heisman Memorial...
Committee, 1956–1986
Awards named after Russell
- Fred Russell Distinguished American Award, Middle Tennessee Chapter of the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame
- Fred Russell Award, Nashville Sports Council
In addition, the press box
Press box
The press box is a special section of a sports stadium or arena that is set up for the media to report about a given event. It is typically located in the section of the stadium holding the luxury box. In general, newspaper writers sit in this box and write about the on-field event as it unfolds...
at Vanderbilt Stadium
Vanderbilt Stadium
Vanderbilt Stadium at Dudley Field is a football stadium located in Nashville, Tennessee. Completed in 1922 as the first stadium in the South to be used exclusively for college football, it is the home of the Vanderbilt University football team...
is named in honor of Russell.
Books written
Russell's book I'll Go Quietly in 1944 was published primarily for members of the United States military during World War II to have for reading and entertainment during their time of service. Before the era of television and widespread radio, the book was a popular entertainment publication for the public and for members of the military.- 50 Years of Vanderbilt Football (1935)
- Big Bowl Football, with George Leonard
- Funny Thing About Sports, (1948)
- I'll Go Quietly, (1944)
- I'll Try Anything Twice, (1945)
- Bury Me in an Old Press Box, (1957)