Mark Howard, a distinctive and singular voice in middle Tennessee sport media for more than three decades, died yesterday at his home in Bellevue.
When I was growing up as an avid sports fan and even when I returned home after college - before the internet, before Sirius, before podcasts, before blogs, before talk radio, and before cable TV and ESPN - the only way to get local sports news was from the five minutes or so of sports on the nightly, local news broadcast. Beginning in 1984, Mark Howard was the weekend sports anchor on Channel 5.
The local news sports anchors were larger than life in those days with big personalities to match their outsized importance in the middle Tennessee sports landscape. Rudy Kalis. Hope Hines. And, yes, Mark Howard. Mark was different from the other sports anchors, though, or so it seemed to me at the time. He was from the Northeast - an unabashed Yankees fan - and his style was less genteel and more abrasive than what we had seen on the local new broadcasts in the past. Mark wasn't Charlie McAlexander or Paul Eells, that's for sure.
In 2004, Mark transitioned to sports talk radio just as it was hitting it's stride in middle Tennessee, when he joined Kevin Ingram and retired Titans' tight end, Frank Wychek to host the Wake Up Zone on local radio station 104.5. The morning drive time sports talk show gave Mark a forum to showcase his sports knowledge, which was considerable. It also gave him an opportunity to opine on all things sports on a daily basis. One thing the listeners quickly learned about Mark Howard was that he had a lot of opinions.
The chemistry between Mark, Frank, and Kevin was rare and unique. Simply put, 104.5 caught lightning in a bottle and the show dominated the local radio airwaves for a decade plus. When former Titan, Blaine Bishop, replaced Frank Wychek, the show lost some of its luster - at least to me - but it remained a ratings hit for 104.5. In 2020, the station unceremoniously sacked Mark Howard and Kevin Ingram, in a move that is as puzzling today as it was two years ago.
Mark continued to work in local sports media, hosting a call in show before and after Titans' games. He also hosted a post-game show after Predators' television broadcasts with Terry Crisp, before he was replaced a couple of years ago.
I corresponded occasionally with Mark on Twitter. Looking back, yesterday, I saw that our last exchange on Twitter was on August 11, 2020, after his departure from the Wake Up Zone on 104.5. I mentioned how much my mom had loved to listen to Mark, Frank, and Kevin in the mornings, on her way home from work. He appreciated that, I think, and reminded to "be safe."
As I think about it this morning, drinking coffee after having a stress test at Vanderbilt, I'm struck, again, by the concept of the passage of time. A recurring theme for me, lately, for sure.
Mark's career in sports media straddle two eras. The provincial, local news sports anchor as icon era. That was a more innocent and less critical time for sports fans, like me, I think.
Later, when sports talk radio took off - and in Nashville, the Titans and the Predators arrived - fans became more opinionated or, maybe, sports talk radio provided a forum for them to voice their opinions. The good sports talk radio hosts - like Mark - were knowledgable and unafraid to challenge the listeners and engage in discussions, sometimes heatedly, with them on a variety of sports topics.
Mark Howard was intelligent, informed, irascible, curmudgeonly, kind hearted, argumentative, funny, confident, and above all, human. All of those things and more. Gone way too soon.
Prayers up for his family, particularly his wife, Debra, and his son, Jack, of whom he spoke often on the radio.
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