Smokin’ Jim Frazier, longtime Courier sportswriter, passes

Football star at Cal State, NFL scout, sports media legend

 by Bill Neal

For New Pittsburgh Courier

In the coming days, you will hear constant and col­lective voices and stories about the late, great Jim Frazier, better known as “Smokin'” Jim Frazier. And understand­ably so.

And here’s the thing; what you’ll hear will all be good, quality, wholesome, enter­taining, and fun-loving. You can also take comfort in knowing the stories you’ll hear are absolutely true!

James Frazier III died on August 26, 2026. He was 66.

Frazier, a longtime free­lance sportswriter for the New Pittsburgh Courier, was, in fact, “THAT GUY.” The guy who everyone knew, who everyone ei­ther liked or loved…nev­er a bad comment to be heard on any level. Matter of fact, you could offer up $1,000 bills on the corner of Penn and Fifth avenues for a negative word about Smokin’ Jim and you would leave with all the money you came with!

With all that being said, this story is unique and one-of-a-kind because I had the pleasure and op­portunity to have known Jim since he was 12 years old. You see, we grew up living next door to each other on a very special street named Banfield in a very special location in Penn Hills. A bit of a Black “Leave It To Beaver” street tucked away in the “Black part of Penn Hills,” where of the 20 houses on the street…and get this…each home had two parents, of­ten both parents worked, most every child grew up to be accomplished civic and community leaders, educators, entrepreneurs, parents and grandparents in their own right, and of course, accomplished ath­letes.

Approximately 12 Divi­sion I level athletes and seven Hall of Fame suc­cess stories came from that street. (All of which to be chronicled in the forth­coming book, the Banfield Congregation…someday!) Jim Frazier was one of the seven, and I was priv­ileged to be his first unof­ficial football coach. But don’t get that part twisted at all. Jim was a natural and proved to be one of the best in the state. He, along with Dwayne Ride­out, another member of that rags-to-riches team that I assembled in my amateur coaching debut, were just special out the gate. Quicker, faster, big­ger and stronger than most. You could tell early on that they were destined for great things. While the rest of us achieved our lev­el of greatness, there was always something unique­ly different about Jim and Dwayne.

While Dwayne was mak­ing history at Penn Hills and Juniata College with NFL opportunities on the doorstep, Jim was carving up defenses as a wingback at Gateway High School to the tune of 6.3 yards a car­ry and 12 yards a catch.

Those stats were more than enough to land him at Cal State College (Pa.) at a time when college football was as brutal as it could get.

Jim joined forces with the likes of Kenneth “Juice” Bryant and Char­lie Harper among others where, as they used to say, they mixed it up real good!

Back to Banfield, be­cause, you see, that street is why and how you came to know the Smokin’ Jim of today. He/we were taught that way, raised that way, and expected to act accordingly. If not, there would be conse­quences! That bold, get it done, matter of fact, no is not an option mentality was born into us by some of the greatest parents a young person could ask for. It was no accident. But the most important quality, bar none, was be­ing taught that it is more important to give than to receive. And if you knew him, that was a quality Smokin’ Jim demonstrat­ed times 10. And he main­tained it through his faith and belief in God.

Jim was part of a won­derful family including brothers Eric and Scott and sister Pamela, and an absolutely great fa­ther in Mr. James Frazier Jr., a salt-of-the-earth, hard-working, fami­ly man, and a kind and beautiful mother in Ms. Dorothy.

Hopefully that scenario gives you some perspec­tive on how the fire got lit to set Smokin’ Jim in motion. Now the rest of this story, you’re pretty much aware of. The nicest guy you could ever meet, a superstar athlete with made-for-TV good looks that he got from his mom (sorry, about that, Mr. Fra­zier), a really smart and intelligent guy who forgot more about football on all levels than all of us who worked with him on and off air would ever know.

We would need a sec­ond edition to list all the talent that Jim had, but here are the highlights. Sports talk show host on four different TV shows, a sportswriter for the New Pittsburgh Courier, co-host on WPXI-TV (Chan­nel 11) “Championship Chase” sports talk show along with Emmy-Award winning broadcaster Brian Cook Sr., the late, great Dee Thompson and Ty Miller. At a time when five Black guys on a major TV network talking sports was not at all the norm, Smokin’ Jim was an NFL scout and college football recruiting guru. Box­ing…boxing…boxing, man please, he did most every­thing boxing in Western Pa. for the past 30 years. Hands down, the best box­ing announcer, historian and commentator in the business.

And if you didn’t know, now you know. Jim served as Senior Vice President in Achieving Greatness Inc. for 30 years, and is credited with being my co-founder as we built the now historic Pittsburgh City League High School All Sports Hall of Fame Inductions. Need a better description? Now in its 12th year of the induction ceremony with an average of 40 inductees per year and a consistent sellout crowd of 500-plus, Jim Frazier was accountable for a quarter of those in­ducted!!! Jim served as a prestigious board member of the Western Pa. and state of Pa. Hall of Fame committees, a factor that is too easily taken for granted and sometimes not acknowledged.

The hundreds of friends, the celebrities, the fash­ion, the star power, and the grace and stature to handle it all in his own cool, calm and collected manner. Jim was a mas­ter at it and no one did it better.

But here’s the thing, and I’ll leave you with this. The reason this one hurts dif­ferent is because Smokin’ Jim was different…and he was special. He would shake your hand, give you a hug, always with a com­pliment, loan you a dollar, and come pick you up in the dead of night on the side of the road if neces­sary.

That’s why we’re all hurting so deeply, be­cause we all can relate to some part of what made Jim Frazier special and someone who will truly be missed.

May God continue to bless you, “Smokin’” Jim, and thank you for all you’ve done for me, our community, the athletes that you set on a pedestal, and the countless others whose lives you touched. Thank you for all you’ve done to help make the world a better place.

(Editor’s note: The visita­tion for James Frazier III will be from 10-11 a.m., Fri­day, Sept. 4, 2026, at House of Law, 2555 Haymaker Road, Monroeville. The fu­neral immediately follows the visitation. The repast will be held at the Triveni Center, 275 Center Road, Monroeville.)