Tom Kowalski selected to receive **** McCann Award by Pro Football Writers Association
It's not often a Killer is honored by a group of his peers, but this is one of those cases.
Tom "Killer" Kowalski, the longtime Detroit Lions beat writer for MLive.com and Booth Newspapers who died last year at the age of 51, will receive the #### McCann Memorial Award from the Pro Football Writers Association. The award is given to a reporter who has made a long and distinguished contribution to pro football through coverage.
Kowalski certainly fit the bill with an outstanding career that spanned more than 30 years before his sudden death from a heart attack on August 29, 2011. (Remember the fan tributes to Killer.)
The McCann Award will be presented during the Enshrinees' Gold Jacket Dinner on Friday, Aug. 3, 2012 in Canton, Ohio, during the 2012 Pro Football Hall of Fame Enshrinement Festival.
"The list of McCann Award winners represents the giants of the football writing profession," said PFWA president Mark Gaughan. "Every one of the winners has been a consummate professional, dedicated to serving the fans by relentlessly reporting on the game the 'why and the how' behind the results. That's what Tom did for decades covering the Lions. He held himself to the highest standards for accuracy and accountability and tirelessly worked to report on the substance of the game."
Kowalski began covering the Lions for the Oakland Press before moving on to Booth Newspapers in 1997. He was integral to the rapid growth of MLive.com as he built a reputation for being the Lions fans' main source for news, insight and the latest information about their favorite team.
But Kowalski didn't stop there. He built a brand that reached across all platforms of sports media. He was a regular guest as a Lions Insider on WDFN-AM 1130 "The Fan" in Detroit before joining the station as a co-host. Killer was also part of the FOX-2 Detroit Lions pre-game show, and wrote articles about the team for The Sporting News.
Despite his old-school belief in journalistic integrity, Kowalski was always open to learning new technology. From live chats to Facebook to Twitter, it was always a priority to interact with readers, many of whom were waiting on is next word.
"He was great because he deeply cared about what the fans wanted to know," said Bill Emkow, MLive Director of State News. "He worked for them. He took the time to listen, and he took their concerns seriously. He frequently took their issues back to the coaches, players and organization for comment.
"He was born in an era where the reporters and editors dictated news down to the masses, and he redefined himself as the voice of the fans."
Sometimes it was easier for him to adapt to one technology than another, but eventually Kowalski was always up to the task.
"The business started moving fast for him," said Kowalski's fiancee Diane Wolan. "Newspaper, TV, radio, computers, and he was adamant to keep his fans informed as quickly as possible, as well as hear what they had to say and try to get information as to what they were looking for. ...
"I don't think he knew the meaning of slowing down to relax. Even in the times when he had a few weeks off, he was never far enough away from a computer or where a phone could be used. He just had something within him that couldn't turn business off. But to him, it wasn't business, it was just his love for the game and what he did."
Paula Pasche knew Killer before he was "Killer." The two began working at the Oakland Press around the same time, and were friends since then. It was Pasche, currently the Lions beat writer for the Oakland Press, who nominated Kowalski for the McCann Award.
"In my nomination I was clear it was not made because Tom had died," she explained. "He deserved recognition for his 30 years of excellent NFL coverage."
That excellence came not only from his dedication and work ethic, but from years upon years of building relationships, earning the trust of sources and taking the time to truly learn the game of football.
"Tom knew his stuff," Pasche said. "He worked hard at it. It's not that other beat writers don't, it's that Tom was willing to put in the extra work to give his readers information they could not get elsewhere. He had his opinions and would not back down no matter what.
"He was a competitive person and it showed in his beat writing. He always wanted to break the story. Maybe overlooked is that he was such a talented writer. He took great pride in that. In fact, years ago he attempted to write a novel."
Perhaps as underrated as his writing ability was Kowalski's charitable spirit. (The Killer Classic charity golf tournament coming up in August.) He wanted to help those in need in any way he could, participating in and founding more than one fundraiser, including one he held particularly close to his heart Our Children's Fund, whose "Holiday Help" program provides food, clothing and gifts to needy area families.
As competitive and opinionated as he was, Kowalski had a magnetic personality. Even his competitors and those in the Lions organization counted themselves among his personal friends.
After his death, the club renamed the media room the "Tom Kowalski Press Room," donated a portion of concession sales from the last season's home opener to two of his favorite charities and started a sports journalism scholarship in his name.
"I miss Tom's work," said Fox Sports Detroit's Mike O'Hara, who was The Detroit News' longtime Lions beat writer. "I miss his presence even more. Thirty years of arguing, insulting, laughing and some serious talk was a great experience, but I'd like 30 more. His dedication to covering the game of football was unmatched."
**** McCann was a reporter for several different newspapers in New York, a sports columnist for the Washington Times-Herald, the publicity director and general manager of the Washington Redskins, and the first director of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Previous **** McCann Memorial Award winners:
2011 - Bob McGinn, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
2010 - Peter Finney, New Orleans Times-Picayune
2009 - Peter King, Sports Illustrated
2008 - Len Pasquarelli, ESPN.com
2007 - John Clayton, ESPN/ESPN.com
2006 - John McClain, Houston Chronicle
2005 - Jerry Green, Detroit News
2004 - Rick Gosselin, Dallas Morning News
2003 - Joel Buchsbaum, Pro Football Weekly
2002 - Edwin Pope, Miami Herald
2001 - Len Shapiro, Washington Post
2000 - Tom McEwen, Tampa Tribune
1999 - Art Spander, Oakland Tribune
1998 - Dave Anderson, New York Times
1997 - Bob Roesler, New Orleans Times-Picayune
1996 - Paul Zimmerman, Sports Illustrated
1995 - Ray Didinger, Philadelphia Daily News
1994 - Don Pierson, Chicago Tribune
1993 - Ira Miller, San Francisco Chronicle
1992 - Frank Luksa, Dallas Morning News
1991 - **** Connor, Denver Post
1990 - Will McDonough, Boston Globe
1989 - Vito Stellino, Baltimore Sun
1988 - Gordon Forbes, USA Today
1987 - Jerry Magee, San Diego Union
1986 - Bill Wallace, New York Times
1985 - Cooper Rollow - Chicago Tribune
1984 - Larry Felser, Buffalo News
1983 - Hugh Brown, Philadelphia Bulletin
1982 - Cameron Snyder, Baltimore Morning Sun
1981 - Norm Miller, New York Daily News
1980 - Chuck Heaton, Cleveland Plain Dealer
1979 - Pat Livingston, Pittsburgh Press
1978 - Murray Olderman, Newspaper Enterprise Assoc.
1977 - Art Daley, Green Bay Press-Gazette
1976 - Jack Hand, Associated Press
1975 - John Steadman, Baltimore News-American
1974 - Bob Oates, Los Angeles Times
1973 - Dave Brady, Washington Post
1972 - Lewis Atchison, Washington Star
1971 - Joe King, New York World-Telegram and Sun
1970 - Arthur Daley, New York Times
1969 - George Strickler, Chicago Tribune