Claire Smith received the Red Smith Award in Las Vegas on Tuesday, a prestigious distinction given annually by the Associated Press Sports Editors that is considered the organization\'s highest honor.
Smith is the first Black woman to receive the award, which is given to a writer or editor who has made major contributions to sports journalism.
A two-time Pulitzer Prize nominee, Smith was the first woman to work a regular beat in MLB when she covered the New York Yankees for The Hartford Courant, beginning in 1982.
She became the first national baseball columnist for The New York Times in 1990. She also worked as an editor and a columnist for The Philadelphia Inquirer and with ESPN in the coordinating news editor role.
Via ESPN