Former Star reporter Terez Paylor to be inducted into Missouri Newspaper Hall of Fame
Terez Paylor is a Hall of Famer.
The former Kansas City Star sports writer has been elected to the Missouri Newspaper Hall of Fame. He’ll be inducted at the Missouri Press Association’s 157th Annual Convention and Trade Show in St. Louis on Sept. 22.
Paylor was 37 when he died in February 2021. A Detroit native and Howard University graduate, he arrived at The Star in 2006 and covered high school sports for six years as well as Sporting KC and the KC Brigade of the Arena Football League in those early years.
He spent 19 months covering the University of Missouri, then switched to the Chiefs beat when Andy Reid and his staff arrived for the 2013 season. His work was honored multiple times by the Associated Press Sports Editors.
Paylor quickly established himself as a leading voice locally and nationally on the Chiefs and the NFL and broke several stories, including the trade of quarterback Alex Smith to Washington in 2018. His NFL Draft coverage included countless hours studying film and producing multiple mock drafts.
He became a selector for the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Selection Committee and regularly attended the Urban Student Journalist Academy in Kansas City. Paylor always offered words of encouragement and advice for younger writers.
Paylor left The Star in 2018 to become a senior NFL writer for Yahoo Sports. He developed and hosted a radio program on 610 Sports and made regular appearances on KSHB 41 and Spectrum Sports.
Paylor’s fiancee Ebony Reed has led the effort to raise more than $200,000 for two scholarships in his honor. Howard University has established a Terez A. Paylor Scholarship, and the PowerMizzou Journalism Alumni Scholarship has been renamed in Paylor’s memory.
One of five inductees to the Missouri Newspaper Hall of Fame, Paylor will have a plaque on permanent display in the MPA office in Columbia and in the student lounge in Lee Hills Hall at the Missouri School of Journalism.