Sports
Why does Ned Reynolds, a legendary Ozarks sports broadcasting icon, refuse to slow down?
In the winter of 1967, an aspiring sports broadcaster named Ned Reynolds struggled to find full-time work in his hometown of Philadelphia. So he got in his car and drove west to Kansas City to stay with his uncle and find a job.
Within a few days, Reynolds landed his first offer: a Western Kansas radio station with the call letters “KXXX” — which, for obvious reasons, Reynolds still laughs about to this day — wanted him to talk about everything from Colorado to New Mexico sports.
When Reynolds returned to Kansas City to mull it over, his family suggested he drive to Southwest Missouri to see what it offered. “For the heck of it,” Reynolds did so.
The first radio station he talked to said it wasn’t looking for someone inexperienced. The second only had a weekend spot open and nothing full-time, but it suggested he try KYTV.
The station gave him an audition where he did everything from news to weather, to sports. The next day, the television station offered him a job, thus beginning the career of one of the most legendary sports figures to grace Southwest Missouri.
Nearly 58 years later, Reynolds continues to pursue the daily sports grind. It’s what he does and it’s all he’s ever wanted to do. Until someone tells him he can’t anymore, he will continue to do so.
“That’s my life,” Reynolds said. “I wouldn’t trade this at all.”
Ned Reynolds, 83, is still as sharp as ever
Reynolds’ weekday begins with a 6 a.m. radio hit on 104.7 The Cave alongside “Mike the Intern,” where, most of the time, he talks about the Kansas City Chiefs. He also records a few capsules that will be aired throughout the day.
Once he’s done there, he makes the short drive to Zimmer Communications, where he’s usually around 20 minutes early for his two-hour radio show “The Sports Reporters” on Jock 96.9, which airs from 7-9 a.m.
No preparation is needed; Reynolds has ad-libbed his whole career. In his 48 years on KY3, he never had a teleprompter or a script telling him what to say. The only instructions he gave producers beforehand were cues for when he’d kick it to local highlights.
“Nobody wants to hear a scripted sports show in any way,” Reynolds said. “They want to hear people bulls***ing back and forth. That’s what it’s all about.”
For two hours, Reynolds doesn’t have a computer in front of him or anything giving him the stats from the night before. It’s all in his head. He’s forgotten more about sports than most hope to learn in a lifetime.
Reynolds, who just turned 83, reviews the day’s top stories, mixing in current events and connecting with what he’s covered in the past. His mind is as sharp as ever, remembering the smallest details from covering the Final Four Lady Bears runs, side gigs for local high school football coaches from years past, and how he was greeted when he covered a Missouri State football game at North Dakota State in 2009.
“But sometimes, I can’t remember what I had for breakfast,” Reynolds laughed, the same sense of humor viewers came to love whether he was told a “young fella” at a fair to “take a hike” while on air or when he showed up on set as Santa Claus after a few holiday spirits.
Ned Reynolds spends a lot of time reading and writing
It’s no accident Reynolds continues to be as healthy and sharp as he ages. His continued public presence is done mindfully when doing what he loves.
After his radio appearances, Reynolds is involved on a handful of boards that keep him busy during the day. He’s in his final days as the president of the Springfield Sports Hall of Fame and is even on the board of a local cat rescue agency. A former surgical technician in the Navy, Reynolds is also on the Honor Flight of the Ozarks board.
On days he’s not asked to be an emcee at an event (which he’ll never say “no” to), Reynolds spends hours doing crossword puzzles, reading, and writing until sporting events begin.
“I just write anything that I feel like writing,” Reynolds said. “That helps keep at least whatever the synapses are in the cranial system. It helps to keep it, I think, sharp. But eventually, that’s going to fade and you know these things are an eventuality. I’m just trying to stave it off.”
Reynolds said his writings are not for consumption. His stories are wide-ranging, from the time he visited the Roger Maris Museum at the West Acres Mall in Fargo, North Dakota, to having a part in the 1979 movie “A Pleasure Doing Business.”
Of course, there are decades worth of sports stories with his favorites being the Winston Garland era at Missouri State and covering both Lady Bears Final Four appearances. He recalls his antics on and off the air at KY3, his thoughts on the changes in the media industry, his time in the Navy and the times spent with family.
“It’s a catharsis for your memory and your mind to get yourself at work and keep sharp,” Reynolds said. “It’s not for anyone else to read or anything to read or anything of that nature.”
Will Ned Reynolds ever really retire?
Reynolds is in great health. His only problem is a nagging hip but he’ll still try to push through and play tennis. He’s a regular at Metropolitan Grill where he drinks more ginger ale and rewards himself with Jack Daniel’s maybe once a week.
He has no regrets — whether turning down jobs in Des Moines or Minneapolis early in his career to stay in the Ozarks, growing up in Philadelphia made him want to avoid the bigger cities, or departing KY3 at the end of 2014. Springfield quickly became home and the media business was changing too much.
Reynolds’ busy schedule “in retirement” keeps him happy and busy. He’s at a point where he wants to give back to those who love him and those he loves. His iconic voice, always saying “It’s an absolutely beautiful day” in the Ozarks, no matter the weather, to open his morning radio show still brings a smile to many.
Reynolds, 83, doesn’t plan on stopping anytime soon. He said one of two things will have to happen before he actually hangs it up. One, he drops dead; two, someone tells him he needs to, hoping he’ll be mature enough to accept that it’s time to move on.
In the meantime, Reynolds will continue to do what he loves, thankful he decided to make the extra drive to Springfield nearly 58 years ago.
“It’s all worked out, not exactly as I planned. Nothing does that,” Reynolds said.
“I’ve never worked a day in my life. This isn’t work. Work is drudgery. Work is ‘oh my God, I have to go to work?’ Hell no. I get out of bed in the morning, even at 4:00, and say ‘This is going to be a new day. It’s going to present a lot of interesting things.’ This is not work.”
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