Black History Month: Remembering Roscoe Nance, first Black Clarion Ledger sports writer
It has been four years since USA Today sports writer Roscoe Nance died. What people remember more is not that he was a great writer and a pioneer in the field of sports journalism, but in the way he treated people. He not only was loved, but beloved by writers, family and others.
When Nance died Jan. 9, 2020, there were two funerals for him: one in Northern Virginia, the other in his hometown of Union Springs, Alabama.
“There was not an empty seat, people standing outside the steps at his funeral,” his daughter Rahkia Nance said. “What I realized in looking back is all those beautiful ceremonies painted a portrait of his life.”
She said she was a toddler and with her father at the 1985 NFL Draft, sitting in Jerry Rice’s apartment when he was drafted in the first round with the 16th pick by the San Francisco 49ers.
Rahkia said her father’s advice to the younger generation would be: “If you work hard, someone will notice.”
Nance was ahead of his time, the first Black sportswriter covering college sports in the Southwestern Athletic Conference with the Clarion Ledger from 1978 to 1985. He brought a deeper level of coverage to the SWAC and its member institutions. Little to no attention was paid to these schools or their talented athletes before Nance began covering the conference. He was inducted into the SWAC Football Hall of Fame in 2014.
“I am surprised and humbled,” Roscoe said at his induction ceremony. “Black college sports are my passion. It is important to me that athletes that play in the SWAC and other Black conferences have never been given their due, even though history tells us they are among the greatest who have played the game, regardless of what the game is. I tried to tell their story.”
Nance was so good that USA Today asked him to be a general assignment sports reporter and was moved to the soccer beat, where he covered the 1991 Women's World Cup in China.
According to Willye Nance, his wife of 39 years, Roscoe loved covering the NBA and did so for 15 years before retiring in 2007.
ESPN's Marc Spears said he was in awe of Nance, who became like an uncle to him. Spears would watch how Nance carried himself and how he was respected.
“I adored him, and I miss him,” Spears said. “I would sit next to him at the NBA Finals or the All-Star Game. He was fearless as a reporter, and he had no problem questioning anybody if he felt something needed to be said. He gave me tricks of the trade and always put his arm around me every time I saw him. I just loved him.”
Spears said Nance should have won the Curt Gowdy Media Award, which is given by the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame to outstanding basketball writers and broadcasters.
Willye said her husband did not write for the accolades or pats on the back, and he was still writing and working until he died because he loved it.
ROSCOE NANCE FIRST BLACK CLARION LEDGER Roscoe Nance, first Black Clarion Ledger sportswriter, announced as Black College Football Hall of Fame inductee
Nance was inducted to the Black College Football Hall of Fame in 2022 and remains the only inductee who was not a player, coach or administrator.
“I did not know that I was living with a legend,” Willye said. “To me, he was a trailblazer and he’s somebody that is remembered and revered. To me, he was a husband and a dad.”
This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Black History Month: Remembering Roscoe Nance, first Black Clarion Ledger sports writer
