Over the past 10 years, Stephen A. Smith has solidified himself as the face of sports media. He's best known the lead commentator on ESPN's hottest show, First Take. However, Smith makes cameos on all the network's properties, such as Get Up, NBA Countdown, SportsCenter, and Stephen A's World. In addition to his work with the Worldwide Leader in Sports, Smith has his own podcast, The Stephen A. Smith Show, and he recently published his memoir Straight Shooter in January.
Stephen A. Smith's Winston-Salem State Experience
Stephen Anthony Smith was born on Oct. 14, 1967 and was raised in Queens, New York with five other siblings. After graduating high school, Smith actually spent a year at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York before being accepted into Winston-Salem State University. Smith made it to Winston-Salem, North Carolina by way of a basketball scholarship. Smith played under legendary basketball coach Clarence “Big House” Gaines. He had a legendary tryout for Gaines, where he reportedly made 14 straight three-pointers to secure his spot on the Rams.
“I hit 17 straight threes. And that was that,” Smith said to the HBCU Times.
In his book “Straight Shooter”, Smith talked about his experience attending Winston-Salem State saying, “Life at an HBCU was a revalation. I was surrounded by Blackness-proud Blackness…At Winston-Salem there were black kids that were well-off, black kids who weren't, and everything else in between. Yet, it felt like all of us were there to handle our business, aspiring to get a college degree.”
Although his playing career was cut short due to an injury, Smith graduated from Winston-Salem State with a degree in Advertising and communications.
Stephen A. Smith Jumpstarts His Media Career
Despite the inability to continue playing sports, Smith discovered a passion in sports writing. Smith wrote for a number of publications, including the Winston-Salem Journal, the Greensboro News & Record, and the New York Daily News before his breakthrough in 1994 as a writer for the Philadelphia Inquirer. Smith spent 16 years (1994-2010) as a general sports columnist and NBA columnist for the Philadelphia 76ers.
While at the Inquirer, Smith was not confined exclusively to print journalism. Between 2005 and 2008, Smith hosted his own self-titled radio show on ESPN Radio. He also hosted Quite Frankly with Stephen A. Smith, a sports news and commentary show that aired on ESPN2 from 2005-2007.
Smith also hosted a morning radio show for Fox Sports, but from 2011 to 2014, he worked exclusively for ESPN Radio on a weekly show in New York. He briefly had a show for Los Angeles local radio, but that was only in 2011. The Stephen A. Smith Show was moved from ESPN to Sirius XM's Mad Dog Radio in 2014. After a few years, the radio show moved back to ESPN and, in 2018, was broadcast across all ESPN Radio platforms until its cancellation two years later.
Outside of the traditional ESPN networks, Smith is a consistent character on the soap opera General Hospital. He made a brief cameo as a reporter on the show in 2007, but he began to play the character “Brick” in 2016 and has made appearances since then.
Stephen A. Smith Becomes The Face Of Sports Media
In 2012, Smith joined First Take as a commentator along with Skip Bayless. The show's exponential growth landed Smith a lucrative $3 million contract in 2014. Despite the constant movement of co-hosts across the table, Smith has been the sole constant on the show. Smith has grown First Take as the most recognizable studio show on ESPN today, even outpacing the popularity of programs such as Pardon The Interruption & Sportscenter.
Stephen A. Smith's charismatic personality and an all-star cast of contributors such as Savannah State alumnus Shannon Sharpe make the program a must-watch every weekday morning. Smith has also ventured out to start a daily podcast called The Stephen A. Smith Show where he talks about sports topics but also delves into pop culture and politics in ways we haven't seen from him before.
Follow Us
Subscribe