After more than a decade as the class clown of Around the Horn, it’s hard to remember sometimes that Woody Paige’s main job is as a sportswriter with the Denver Post.
However, after being with the Denver Post since the 1980’s, Paige will call time on his tenure with the paper this weekend. The paper announced that his last column will appear on Sunday and that he is “retiring” after 35 years.
Woody Paige is retiring from The Denver Post after 35 years.
During his time at The Denver Post, he has covered the Broncos winning three Super Bowls, the Avalanche winning two Stanley Cups, numerous Super Bowls, World Series, NBA Finals, Stanley Cup Finals, major golf tournaments, the summer and winter Olympics.
If it was a big story, Woody was there. Sunday, Woody writes for The Post for the last time, reflecting and recalling personal stories he has shared over the years.
However, Paige is reportedly not “retiring” from sportswriting. Westword.com reports that Paige is leaving the paper and moving to the Colorado Springs Gazette after a pay dispute. Paige had been writing a weekly column at the Post. The report seems to be backed up by former Post colleague Adrian Dater, who wished Paige well at the Gazette.
Woody Paige leaving Denver Post, will write for Colorado Springs Gazette. All the best Woodman
— Adrian Dater (@adater) July 30, 2016
UPDATE: The Gazette confirmed Paige’s hire on Saturday. He’ll be writing two columns per week.
Paige’s writing career hasn’t been without controversy. Perhaps most notably, he’s faced multiple allegations of plagiarism and lifting the quotes of others over the years.
Paige is perhaps the poster child for a generation of sportswriters turned television stars thanks to ESPN’s dedication to opinion-based programming and his status on Around the Horn and as Skip Bayless’ original foil on Cold Pizza, the predecessor to First Take. Paige temporarily moved to New York for the first incarnation of “Embrace Debate” and was with the program from 2004-2006. (Yes, Skip Bayless was involved in sports debate for 10+ years on ESPN airwaves. Let that soak in!)
Paige’s humor and trademark chalkboard messages offered a more light-hearted approach to those taken by other scribes who became on-air talent. It’s allowed him to be the centerpiece of Around the Horn panelists for the 14 years the program has been in existence.
Paige has a total of 2,330 appearances on Around the Horn, 830 more than second place Tim Cowlishaw. His 522.5 wins are also an ATH record. Yes, apparently you can get half of a win on Around the Horn. And yes, somebody is apparently keeping track of wins and losses on a sports debate show with a made-up score.
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