Russell Cowans
Russell "Russ" Cowans was born on July 29, 1899, in Centre, Alabama. His father, initially a farmer, moved the family to Chicago when Russ was four years old.
Cowans served in World War I before embarking on his journalism career in Detroit in the early 1920s. He contributed to several small black newspapers in Detroit, including the Detroit Owl and the Detroit Peoples News. His articles were also published in prominent national publications such as the Baltimore Afro-American, the Pittsburgh Courier, and the Chicago Defender, where he eventually became a correspondent in 1929. He covered local Detroit news and sports for the Defender. Later, in 1933, Cowans joined the Detroit Tribune, where he wrote a weekly sports column before transitioning to the role of sports editor for the Detroit Guardian.
In 1935, Cowans became Joe Louis's private tutor and personal secretary for two years. He then returned to the Detroit Tribune in 1937, where he held various roles such as city editor, sports reporter, and special events photographer, eventually becoming the managing editor.
Appointed to the Michigan Boxing Commission in 1943 by Governor Harry Kelly and re-appointed in 1947 by Governor Kim Sigler, Cowans left an indelible mark on sports journalism. In 1945, he was briefly married to golfer Thelma Cowans and began a regular golf column titled "Down the Fairway" in the Chicago Defender in 1951. Additionally, Cowans co-founded the Motor City Press Club in 1946, providing a platform for black journalists to socialize, improve their skills, and engage in community service.
In 1948, Cowans was among the few black sports journalists who covered the Olympics in London. The following year, he left Detroit to become the sports editor for the Chicago Defender, later returning to Detroit to work for the Michigan Chronicle before retiring in 1964. In 1962, he was honored by Brewster Old Timers, Inc. for his advocacy of black athletes and youth, as well as his charitable work.
Russ Cowans, known as the "Dean of Black Sportswriters" and dubbed "The Sage of St. Antoine" for his sports knowledge, passed away on December 20, 1978, in Detroit. A former colleague aptly remarked, "...there will never be another Russell Cowans, for it was he who blazed the trail and set the standard of achievement for those who follow him.
Sources:
Michigan Chronicle - Friends Remember Russ. October 21, 1978 - page A1 & A4
Michigan Chronicle - Russell Cowans, Noted Journalist, Mourned. December 30, 1978 - page A1 & A4
Thelma Cowans
Thelma Louis Simmons was born in Georgia in 1912 and moved with her family to Detroit in 1922. While studying at Morris Brown College in Atlanta, Georgia, she and her younger sister Theresa helped organize golf teams for women at black colleges. The sisters, close in bond, began playing golf simultaneously, engaging in friendly battles where one would usually win by a stroke or two.
It was said that Theresa's drives and irons were clean and straight, easily propelling the ball 215 yards. Thelma's long game wasn't as powerful as her sister's, but she rarely missed a putt.
After earning a bachelor's degree in business, Theresa worked as a clerk at the Pentagon during World War II. After the war, she relocated to New York, where she taught physical education. In 1947, she returned to Detroit and opened a restaurant, Theresa's BBQ, which operated for 26 years until a fire forced its closure in 1973.
In 1945, Thelma was briefly married to Detroit sports columnist Russell Cowans before moving to Los Angeles in 1948. There, she frequently played golf with boxer Joe Louis, an enthusiastic golfer.
Thelma, the elder sister, became a pioneering black professional golfer. She clinched the United Golfer's Association national championship five times, in 1947, 1949, 1954, 1955, and 1956. Despite being denied membership in the Ladies Professional Golfer's Association in 1951 due to her race, she persevered. Thelma became the first black player to compete in the George S. May and Tam O'Shanter tournaments in Chicago.
Thelma Cowans was honored with membership in the Afro-American Sports Hall of Fame in Detroit and the United Golfer's Association Hall of Fame. Additionally, she was a founding member of the Detroit Amateur Golf Club.
Thelma Cowans - pictured far left, sister Theresa Howell seated.
Sources:
Detroit Free Press - Sisters Continue Golf War. August 23, 1967 - page 1B
Detroit Free Press - Thelma Cowans, 5-time golf champion. February 7, 1990 - page 4B
Detroit Free Press - Theresa Simmons Howell: Trailblazing black woman. November 3, 2000 - page 3B