Journal photo by Jordan Wald.
Rubin Grant has been named one of the 50 Legends of the Alabama Sports Writers Association, an honor being given out in conjunction with the association’s 50th anniversary celebration.
Grant has been a regular contributor to the Over The Mountain Journal since 2017 and previously spent 25 years at the Birmingham Post-Herald, where he served as prep editor. He has worked as a freelance journalist since 2004 and co-authored “Tales from Alabama Prep Football.”
“This is not something I was expecting. I am honored and humbled,” Grant said. “I thank God for gifting me with the ability to write and for being able to turn my love for sports into a career that’s lasted for more than four decades. I also thank my family, my wife, Dena, and my daughter Krystal, for their love and support throughout my career.
Grant is a graduate of Carver-Montgomery High and the University of Alabama, where he was the first Black sports editor for the Crimson White student newspaper.
Last year, he was given the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame’s 2021 Mel Allen Media Award. In 1981, he won the ASWA’s Herby Kirby Award, and he was inducted into the Birmingham Barons Hall of Fame after 25 years of covering the team.
Selection of the legends began with nominations from the ASWA membership and included numerous rounds of voting by the selection committee, which was primarily made up of the sitting executive council. Among those joining Grant on the list are: Clyde Bolton, Paul Finebaum, Hoyt Harwell, Cecil Hurt and Kevin Scarbinsky.
The 50 will be honored during the 2022 ASWA Awards Banquet on June 12, in Birmingham.
“I owe a debt of gratitude to the sports writers, some of whom are on this list, who took me under their wings when I was in college and showed me the ropes, and the copy editors who always managed to improve my work,” Grant said. “Of course, none of it would have been possible without the athletes and coaches who trusted me to tell their stories and the readers who made what I do worthwhile.”
