Late writer Don Banks receives award at Hall of Fame ceremony
Veteran football journalist and former Review-Journal reporter Don Banks was honored posthumously with the Bill Nunn Jr. Award as part of the Hall of Fame ceremonies in Canton, Ohio, this weekend.
Banks was the 2020 winner, though the ceremony was delayed a year because the event was postponed last year by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The honor, known until last year as the Dick McCann Award, is given by the Professional Football Writers of America to a reporter whose work has been a distinguished contribution to the game.
His son Micah accepted the award, along with his stepmother, Don’s wife Alissa.
“We were honored to receive the award for Don,” Micah Banks told the Review-Journal. “My father spent his career striving for his own reporting and writing to be Hall of Fame worthy. Now, though he isn’t here to live it, I am happy to say Don Banks is a Hall of Famer.
“He wanted to always do his best work and treated the people around him like a Hall of Famer does. It was an amazing weekend, and my thanks go out to the Pro Football Hall of Fame for all they did for us.”
Banks had an exemplary career that spanned nearly four decades and included reporting for Sports Illustrated, The Athletic, the St. Petersburg (Florida) Times, the Minneapolis Star Tribune, the St. Paul (Minnesota) Pioneer Press, NFL.com, Bleacher Report and Patriots.com.
He was the 52nd person to receive the award. Bob Glauber of Newsday was the 2021 recipient.
Banks died in Canton shortly after attending Hall of Fame ceremonies as part of his first assignments for the Review-Journal in August 2019.
“It was tragic that Don passed away in Canton, but poetic that he will be eternalized there,” Micah Banks said.
Contact Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AdamHillLVRJ on Twitter.
