Remembering legendary Huntsville sportswriter John Pruett

Legendary Huntsville sportswriter John Pruett died June 25. He was 83.

The big picture: Pruett spent more than 40 years at The Huntsville Times, detailed in an article by al.com that quotes Alabama sports heavyweights like Paul Finebaum, David Housel and Phillip Marshall, among others.

• Mark McCarter, who worked for 10 years alongside Pruett as the "other columnist" at The Huntsville Times, remembers "a great writer, but an even greater person."
• "As a reporter, John had cultivated so many friends and so many sources, and so many people that trusted him, that heck, the phone probably rang both ways equally when it came to a big story," McCarter tells Axios Huntsville.

Behind the scenes: He didn't overlook anyone. McCarter said that on many occasions, Pruett would ask about young writers, wanting to know who they were and make himself accessible to help and encourage them.

• That went for sports, too. It's no secret that Huntsville is Auburn/Alabama territory, McCarter says, but Pruett was just as generous with his time at Alabama A&M, making sure talented writers were on the beat and building a relationship with people like alum and NFL Hall of Famer John Stallworth.
• "Going out to an HBCU in 1971 and having a relationship and friendship with a head coach — that struck me that it wasn't all just Alabama and Auburn," McCarter said.

State of play: For Paul Gattis, now a communications specialist with the city, Pruett is remembered as "The General." When he saw the news of Pruett's passing, "it was truly a gut punch," he told Axios.

• "I was sort of the younger reporter at the time," Gattis said, of joining The Huntsville Times in 2001, in the days when multiple reporters would produce seven or eight stories from an Alabama or Auburn game.
• "I'd get all anxious at the time, go to John and ask, 'What do you think you're going to write about?'" Gattis said, trying to make sure he didn't step on Pruett's toes. "He'd always smile, shake his head and say, 'The Lord will provide.'"
• But Pruett always had his unique perspective. "Looking back on that, I feel kind of silly to think there'd ever be any concern that I'd interfere with anything John did because John was one of a kind," Gattis said. "I was not going to come close to what he was going to do."

Context: Like McCarter, Gattis remembers Pruett's dedication to all sports and athletes, from major national events to local high school basketball, including a Christmastime tournament at Huntsville High which awarded the John Pruett Championship Trophy to the winner.

What we're saying: Axios Local managing editor Mike Szvetitz was one of those young sports writers years ago in Alabama who Pruett asked about.

• Larger than life, Szvetitz remembers the first time he talked to the sports writing legend, who called him up to offer a chance to become a Hesiman Trophy voter.
• "I'm not sure what was the bigger honor," Szvetitz recalls, "getting a Heisman vote or getting a phone call from Mr. Pruett."

The bottom line: "He was the best," Gattis said. "The world is a lesser place without him."