John McClain, the legendary sports reporter for the Houston Chronicle, announced his retirement from the profession Thursday. It was his last day on the job after 47 years at the publication in addition to his four years at the Waco Tribune-Herald during his college years at Baylor.
"I always knew that someday I’d be writing a column on my retirement from the Chronicle, and that day is finally here," he wrote.
The Oilers, Texans and Aeros are among the teams McClain covered during his career. Even after retirement, he plans to continue his weekly radio shows on Sports Radio 610, Outkick 360 (Nashville), KNML Sports Talk (Knoxville), KENS the Blitz (San Antonio), Sic ’Em Sports (Waco) and KRLV RaiderNation 920 (Las Vegas).
McClain was given the Dick McCann Memorial Award in 2006 by the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and he's been a member of the selection committee for nearly 30 years. In his goodbye column, he highlighted several former star players that he's covered. McClain added he has a goal when it comes to his Hall of Fame vote.
“My priority is to help Andre Johnson become the first Texan to be enshrined in Canton," he wrote.
McClain will still write for his longtime newspaper occasionally on a freelance basis and he can be reached at john.mcclainNFL@gmail.com.
