BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Board of Directors of the State of Alabama Sports Hall of Fame is proud to announce that Mark McCarter will be recognized as the 2022 Mel Allen Media Award recipient at the 54th Annual Induction Banquet and Ceremony on Saturday, May 7, 2022.
The Mel Allen Media Award was created to honor media members in the State of Alabama who have made a lifetime contribution to sports through their work as a media member. The award is named after the 1974 ASHOF Inductee Mel Allen, of Birmingham, who was known as the “Voice of the New York Yankees” for two decades.
Mark McCarter began his career in journalism at The Chattanooga News-Free Press in 1971 before spending over 20 years writing for newspapers in Alabama, first as sports editor of The Anniston Star and then 17 years as a columnist at The Huntsville Times. A four-time Alabama Sports Writer of the Year, he has also been honored as Best Sports Columnist by the Associated Press Sports Editor with three other years as a finalist. His contributions to the sports community include serving as an ASHOF Selection Committee member since 2009, Heisman Trust chairman for Alabama for 12 years, committee member for 15 years for the John Stallworth Foundation Golf Tournament, and past president and more than 20 years as officer or board member of the Alabama Sports Writers Association.
McCarter is an author of three books, and his work has been published in Sports Illustrated, Fortune, The Sporting News, Baseball America, Sport Magazine, USA Today and numerous other publications. He has covered ten Final Fours, numerous college football national championships and bowl games, five Super Bowls, the 2008 Beijing Olympics, 17 Daytona 500s and more than 60 NASCAR Cup races at Alabama’s Talladega Superspeedway. He still contributes to publications in Alabama and has a continuing involvement in sports through his new role as Assistant Athletic Director for External Operations at The University of Alabama in Huntsville.
McCarter joins a distinguished list of others who have been honored by the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame as Mel Allen Media Award recipients. They are: John Pruett (2014), George Smith (2014), Tom Roberts (2015), Ron Ingram (2017), Cecil Hurt (2019), Paul Finebaum (2020), and Rubin Grant (2021).
The 54th Induction Banquet and Ceremony will be held in the Birmingham Ballroom, at the Sheraton Birmingham Hotel, on Saturday, May 7, 2022. For more information or to purchase tickets, please contact the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame Museum at (205) 323-6665.
