Sam Hooks, WZZM Groundbreaker

[Plucky]

The first Black person to be a member of a weeknight news team in West Michigan passed away last year, WZZM sportscaster Sam Hooks: https://michigancremation.com/obituaries/sammy-hooks. Surprised this didn't receive more attention.

[MWmetalhead]

I'm sorry to hear of his passing.

I vaguely remember his sportscasts on WZZM in the early or mid 80s. He was part of the crew that consisted of Lee Van Ameyde, Barry Shanley and Craig James, I think.

Lee was the only person of that quartet to remain at TV-13 after 1985 or 1986. Shanley bolted to 3, James bolted to 8, and it is unclear why Hooks left. Ann Alward, Bill Steffen and Bob Trimble filled the vacancies.

3, 8 and 13 all had a lot of upheaval in the early or mid 80s. 8 had three of four pieces of its evening newscast nucleus in place by 1983. They also launched Live at 5:30 anchored by Tom Van Howe in either '83 or '84. The icing on the cake was when Craig James arrived 2 or 3 years later, replacing Gary Bazner. People thought channel 8 was nuts when it chose not to renew Bazner's contract, but once it became known Craig James was his replacement, most folks realized the move made sense.

I know Hooks was part of WZZM's 50th anniversary celebration over a decade ago. He actually hosted a sportscast one evening and did a commendable job for someone who hadn't been on camera for probably 25+ years!

[Plucky]

Live at 5:30 first went on in '82 I think w/ Geha and Cary Berglund in the newsroom. Then Berglund and Jeanne Norcross. Then Norcross and Van Howe in like 1986.

[MWmetalhead]

Your memory is better than mine.

Thanks for the info.

[Feature/writer]

I recall Steve Knight was the second man under Hooks in the ZZM sports department during much of that period and often anchored TV-13 News weekend sportscasts. Steve Knight was actually John Keating, who this year is retiring from his Detroit sports anchor post at the Fan Duel Sports Network, working Detroit Red Wing games....

[dwp49423]

I remember meeting Sam in the mid 1980s when I was somewhere around 12 years old. WZZM News had done their newscast live from Grand Haven (for Coast Guard Festival) and my parents and I sat on the hill by the Acacia Memorial and watched. My mom noticed Sam writing notes on his script and pointed out to me that he was also left handed. After the newscast, I approached Sam and said something about he and I both being southpaws. He gave me his autograph, signing it "From your fellow lefty".

[Doktor No]

Twas a pesky 'spider bite' that derailed Mr. Hooks career for awhile. Damn spiders anyway... Remember that one?

[georgetownt]

Twas a pesky 'spider bite' that derailed Mr. Hooks career for awhile. Damn spiders anyway... Remember that one?

Smokey or Potent potables for $500 Alex?

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[dwp49423]

Twas a pesky 'spider bite' that derailed Mr. Hooks career for awhile. Damn spiders anyway... Remember that one?

I remember reading something about this sometime after the forementioned CGF when Grand Rapids Magazine had an article about Sam in an issue after he left WZZM. Talked about his alter ego "Sam Hooks the Loser", how his then wife could tell if he was high by the sparkle in his eyes when he did his sports report on air. And that he went to Teen Challenge in Muskegon to try and break his habit. Always wondered what became of him as he never re-entered the local broadcast scene.