Ledford, Leach Honored by the National Sports Media Association

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Two sportscasters who have a long-time association with University of Kentucky Athletics, Tom Leach and the late Cawood Ledford, have been honored by the National Sports Media Association.
 
Ledford, the 39-year voice of Wildcats football and men’s basketball, was named to the NSMA Hall of Fame while Leach – current voice of the Cats – has been chosen as the Kentucky Sportscaster of the Year.  They will be recognized at the annual NSMA Awards Banquet, slated for June 29 in Winston-Salem, N.C.

Ledford called UK games from 1953 until his retirement in 1992.  His work with the Wildcats was more than enough to gain national fame, but his impact was felt far beyond the Commonwealth. He handled the radio call of the NCAA Final Four for 18 years and was four times named the top college basketball announcer in the nation.
 
Ledford also was prominent in horse racing, handling 22 Kentucky Derby broadcasts, and winning numerous awards for his coverage of that sport.  He was the Kentucky Sportscaster of the Year by the NSMA 22 times. He is a member of the UK Athletics Hall of Fame and the (state of) Kentucky Athletics Hall of Fame.
 
Leach has been a member of the UK Athletics broadcast team since 1989 and has been the play-by-play voice of Wildcats football since 1997 and men’s basketball since 2001.  This is the sixth time he has been named the Kentucky Sportscaster of the Year. Like Ledford, he is known for his expertise in horse racing and has won two Eclipse Awards for his coverage.  He received the 2019 Tom Hammond Media Award from the Bluegrass Sports Commission and was named a distinguished alumnus of the University of Kentucky School of Journalism and Media. 
 
Also to be honored in June will be Mark Story, columnist for the Lexington Herald-Leader, who is the Kentucky Sportswriter of the Year.  It is the second time he has received that accolade.