Woody Paige is officially a Hall of Famer

The purpose of any Hall of Fame is to serve as a museum of sorts, telling the entire story of it’s namesake and all that made it special.

You can’t tell the story of sports in Colorado without including THE storyteller himself, Woody Paige.

That’s why he’s one of this year’s inductees into the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame.

As a top flight journalist for more than five decades, Woody has never been an advocate of himself or his colleagues “being” the story. That’s not the nature of the job. He’d rather be writing or talking about potential Hall of Fame members than actually be one.

Still, a scant few in his field have had the tremendous impact on Colorado sports that Woody has.

He was a pioneer of sports talk radio – nationally, not just locally – when he and the late great Irv Brown teamed up to start a sports talk show in the early 1980’s…before those guys on the east coast even had the idea.

He was one of the first to open a sporting goods store that allowed fans to purchase jerseys and other team items somewhere other than at the stadium on gameday. And you could get opposing team gear there, too.

And from start to (not yet) finish, he was/is the national award-winning sports columnist that everyone had to read, befuddling men like Broncos Coach Dan Reeves with his ability to get the stories before anyone else.

Woody once found a secret place where he could stand and watch Broncos practice. That had Reeves in knots.

Woody has been a “must-read” in the Denver Post, the Rocky Mountain News, and now, the Denver/Colorado Springs Gazette. He’s also written nine books.

Woody has covered 40 Super Bowls, 14 Olympic games, World Series, NBA Finals, Stanley Cup Finals and countless major college championships. He’s been there for the Masters, US Open, Wimbledon, and the Daytona 500. All totaled, he’s written more than 10,000 must-read sports columns.

The newest generation of sports fans – locally and nationally – know him as the All-Time leader in wins on ESPN TV’s popular afternoon show, Around the Horn. Woody has been a fixture on that show for two decades, cementing a new generation of followers with his famous chalkboard quotes.

Before the Horn, congrats to @woodypaige for getting into the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame 🥳👏 pic.twitter.com/xYjq7n6tWL

— Around the Horn (@AroundtheHorn) October 11, 2023

He’s been Colorado Sportswriter of the Year four times.

One of his more unnoticed contributions to the sports/media world is his willingness to mentor anyone and everyone looking to get their foot in the door. Industry titans like ESPN’s Adam Schefter credit “Drow” for helping them every step of the way and giving shrewd guidance and advice in their various career moves. He’s helped launch careers, opened doors, and followed anyone on Twitter/X who has asked.

He’s not above appearing on an up-and-coming podcast on the same day he appears on some of the top podcast/streaming/radio shows in the world. His stories can bring a person to tears — laughing or crying.

You simply cannot tell the story of sports in Colorado without one of it’s best storytellers.

That’s why Woody Paige is a Hall of Famer.