DALLAS — If there ever is a "Mark Lane Story," it can't be told without thumbing through the pages of the "Charean Williams Story." I doubt I am the only pro football writer birthed in the Jerry Jones era to say that.
On Tuesday, the Pro Football Writers of America announced Pro Football Talk's Williams as the 2018 winner of the Dick McCann Award, which is, "given to a reporter who has made a long and distinguished contribution to pro football through coverage." No doubt that fits Williams, who, interestingly is the 50th recipient in her 25th season covering pro football. Being the first ever female to win the distinguished award, though being "the first female" to do anything in this business is not new to her. In 2007, she was one of the first two women members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame Selection Committee. She was the first woman to be president of the PFWA when she served in that post during the 2009-10 NFL seasons.
We can read the stories and the tributes to Williams all throughout the internet, and make no mistake that they are well earned. But I want to take this space to talk about how she has impacted my career as a pro football writer. Maybe you're not reading this if not for Williams.
Let's go back to the 2013 season. I'm writing for a fan-oriented outlet, but I sense something greater with my potential. Kind of like the Britney Spears song "I'm Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman," I wasn't really a fan, but I was so callow when it came to covering the sport. I'm starting to get all of this access to events and players, past and present, but I don't know how to utilize it, put it all together. Imagine a knucklehead at the Dirk Nowitzki Heroes Celebrity Baseball Game mock press conference shouting out a question for Drew Pearson about the coaching style of Tom Landry. That's what we're talking about here.
And don't get me started on the stats. At that time, I worked at a now defunct production studio. I worked in the real fun part of the operation, the network origination element where we monitored the signal for broadcast clients. In other words, I watched TV all day. Other people are setting up the live shots like you see on CNN and Fox News or editing commercials, and I'm using my four-year degree to watch daytime television. There was so much downtime that I would look up Dallas Cowboys stats on Pro Football Reference. I'd look at the coaching history of the various opponents they would face. I would look at the prime time game results for the Cowboys and their opponents. A lot of that research became the foundation for my Cowboys 100 series.
One autumn day I notice this woman getting ready for a live shot. I recognized her from the second annual Cowboys home run derby earlier that spring. When she finished her live shot with Al Jazeera, I went over and introduced myself. We talked. She was friendly and receptive, and that was it. See you next week.
Seeing Charean was the highlight of my week because it got me out of watching TV and into pro football. Even if it was for 10 minutes out of the 10,070 other minutes I had to "watch the signal," it was activating and sprouting my roots to explore covering the game. Every week I would have a stat for her, and eventually, knowing me, it turned into giving her about 10 pages of stats near the end of the season. Every time Charean found them interesting and relevant, which was a good thing because I also, for fun, had the Cowboys' record during certain moon phases.
And the thing with Charean is, yes, she was kind and welcoming to me, but I have seen her take an identical approach to other young sportswriters. For example, I remember during the 2015 Baylor pro day someone came over and introduced a young, female sports journalist to her. I can't recall if she was graduating that semester or had just started in the business or what; I was too busy trying to see if Terrance Williams was going to be isolated so I could go get some quotes from him. But I do remember that Charean exchanged contact information with her and was as open to her as she was to me. That's why I tell you I can't be the only one. Perhaps we will read similar tributes such as these in the future.
In 2015, I spent time at Valley Ranch covering the Cowboys for Fox Sports Southwest, and I really got to see why her colleague at the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Clarence Hill, Jr., called her "Mother Football." She was divvying out parts for people to transcribe for interviews. She was tracking who was absent and present at practice. I got to see the intrigue in a former scout's eyes like Bryan Broaddus' when he would talk the game with her. I also saw how much respect Rod Marinelli had for her since she covered the Tampa Bay Buccaneers back when he was part of Tony Dungy's franchise turnaround in 1996. And let's not ever forget Jerry Jones credited her in his Hall of Fame induction speech as one of the reasons why he was even being enshrined in Canton.
Speaking of Jerry, one of the things he has said that will always stick with me is how he credits a number of people with his success. It isn't just his singular genius or talent that made things happen; it was a credit to support and belief his predecessors and partners. I feel the same way about Charean. All she did was engage me and give me an ear for my stats. And by getting to be in this industry, I also got to see how an esteemed sportswriter goes to work.
Terrell Owens may not be in Canton this summer, but Charean will be at the 2018 Enshrinement Ceremony on Saturday, Aug. 4 in Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium where she will receive the award.
Mark will continue the journey toward his own enshrinement someday and you can follow along on Twitter @therealmarklane.
