Bob Spear, Julian Gibbons to be honored by Hall of Fame
Bob Spear and Julian Gibbons will be honored by the South Carolina Athletic Hall of Fame when the organization hosts its 56th annual banquet and induction ceremony on May 16 at the Columbia Metro Convention Center.
Spear, the longtime sportswriter and columnist for The State in Columbia, will be bestowed with the sixth annual Herman Helms Media Excellence Award that is sponsored by Boyd Management of Columbia, and Gibbons will receive the fifth annual Dom Fusci Leadership in Action Award that is being sponsored by Founders Federal Credit Union.
The two honorees will be distinguished along with the new inductees of the SCAHOF Class of 2016 which include Barnwell native and New England Patriots’ star Troy Brown, Clemson basketball standout Greg Bucker, South Carolina basketball greats Art Whisnant, B.J. McKie and Martha Parker Hester, celebrated Citadel baseball player Richard Wieters, legendary coach and administrator Buddy Sasser, and former Clemson and major league pitcher Flint Rhem, who will be enshrined posthumously.
Tickets (table of eight for $600) and program sponsorships may be purchased by calling the SCAHOF office at 803/779-0905. The affair, which includes a reception and dinner, begins at 5:30 p.m.
Herman Helms Media Excellence Award
Bob Spear
The State, Columbia
In a career spanning six decades, retired sports editor of The State, Bob Spear delivered on a clear objective: To inform, entertain, surprise and delight through honest storytelling and informed opinion.
His unwavering focus provided a front-row seat for generations of sports fans in South Carolina. Without fail, Spear delivered the accuracy, the color and the credibility essential to outstanding sports-writing.
Born in Florida and raised for a time in Atlanta, Spear moved with his family to Columbia where he was graduated from Dreher High School (1961) and the University of South Carolina (journalism, 1965).
Spear worked at The State the summer after his freshman year. He caught the eye of Sports Editor Herman Helms, who hired Spear for the summer of 1964. Spear impressed, and remained with The State until his retirement in 2008 -- with time out to serve in the Marines from1968-70. Along the way, he covered high school sports, college sports, the Atlanta Braves, and more.
Spear worked as a reporter and a copy desk staffer, then became assistant sports editor in 1982, and sports editor in 1987. He gave up administrative duties in 1995 to concentrate on writing columns. In retirement, Spear continues to provide coverage for The State, often about golf and the South Carolina sports scene.
Along the way, Spear frequently won state and national journalism awards for reporting, writing and editing. His sports sections were honored by the South Carolina Press Association and the Associated Press Sports Editors.
Spear was enthusiastic in telling stories about the good and the bad, the glad and the sad. His ability to write with heart and sensitivity was valued by readers of The State. In 2000, a reader shared that she had taped to her mirror for "daily inspiration" a column Spear had written in 1997 about the death of his mother.
WINNERS
2016 – Bob Spear, Columbia
2015 – Warren Peper, Charleston
2014 – Rick Henry, Columbia
2013 – Ken Burger, Charleston
2012 – Bill Hamilton, Orangeburg
2011 – Ron Morris, Columbia
Dom Fusci Leadership in Action Award
Julian Gibbons
SCAHOF Board Member, Columbia
The Dom Fusci Leadership in Action Award is given annually to recognize a member of the South Carolina Athletic Hall of Fame’s Board of Directors who, like Dom, is able to demonstrate quiet and effective leadership by their actions. Dom, affectionately referred to as “Dynamite Dom,” was inducted into our Hall with the Class of 1991, having enjoyed a spectacular career as a University of South Carolina football player who earned All-Southern Conference honors in 1942-43. Dom’s service to our organization for more than the next two decades was characterized by his devotion to sports in the Palmetto State.
Julian Gibbons, a native of Turbeville, serves as the Chief Community and Governmental Relations Officer for Palmetto Health in Columbia. Prior to that, he served as director of public relations and marketing for Palmetto Health. Gibbons earned his undergraduate degree from the University of South Carolina’s School of Journalism. After college, he was a sportswriter for The Columbia Record before joining USC’s sports information office where he worked under the legendary Tom Price, who was enshrined in our Hall of Fame.
Gibbons is known as the “go-to guy” for the SCAHOF Board.
WINNERS
2016 – Julian Gibbons, Columbia
2015 – Sonny Dickinson, Columbia
2014 – Dennis Powell, Columbia
2013 – Jeff Grantz, Columbia
2012 – Ken Wheat, Columbia
This story was originally published April 18, 2016 at 10:25 PM with the headline "Bob Spear, Julian Gibbons to be honored by Hall of Fame."