Jimmy Hyams, Knoxville sportswriter and radio host, to retire after covering Tennessee athletics for 38 years

Jimmy Hyams, the former News Sentinel sportswriter and current Knoxville sports talk radio host, will retire on March 31.

[{"selector":"#anim-a104ff00-753e-4f9b-9cc3-20b6088d9495","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":250,"duration":1500,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}]

Hyams announced it on his blog on Tuesday after covering Tennessee athletics for 38 years.

[{"selector":"#anim-158d4498-3511-4875-ad19-c6ae71e4dc9b","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":250,"duration":1500,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}]

He was inducted into the Tennessee Sports Writers Association Hall of Fame in 2011 and the Greater Knoxville Sports Hall of Fame in 2022.

[{"selector":"#anim-efd45877-ef0a-4e7d-961a-d275e788b5e1","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":250,"duration":1500,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}]

“Not everyone can say they have loved their job spanning seven decades. I can.

[{"selector":"#anim-d5c0ab41-725f-41d6-885d-d8272c036e03","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":250,"duration":1500,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}]

But now it’s time to say good-bye,” Hyams wrote. “… But I’m ready for the daily grind to end.

[{"selector":"#anim-01ba28eb-df3b-46f0-a4aa-fdcc853b6b6e","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":250,"duration":1500,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}]

I’m ready to pass the torch. As the great John Ward once said when he retired: ‘It’s time.’”

[{"selector":"#anim-d2d8e122-5e6c-404b-bbc0-80d76de48321","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":250,"duration":1500,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}]

In 1985, Hyams moved to Knoxville from Baton Rouge, Louisiana,

[{"selector":"#anim-d2149af2-0dc3-4b9c-a6f0-74c8b773c6f6","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":250,"duration":1500,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}]

taking a sportswriter job at the News Sentinel. He covered Tennessee football and was promoted to assistant sports editor.

[{"selector":"#anim-1dbc281c-8f00-4fb7-ba16-5d08d6feaa14","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":250,"duration":1500,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}]

In 1998, Hyams left the News Sentinel to focus on sports talk radio.

[{"selector":"#anim-e11c75e0-748b-47eb-9c94-21cb9d2dae06","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":250,"duration":1500,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}]

He has co-hosted “SportsTalk” with John Wilkerson on WNML The Sports Animal for almost three decades.

[{"selector":"#anim-2c72b170-6f87-424b-b00b-9715204ec8c6","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":250,"duration":1500,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}]

It’s been a staple of Knoxville sports talk radio, and Hyams has hosted numerous other shows.

[{"selector":"#anim-50ccfe07-8320-42d8-a1e1-3e47f8acfb30","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":250,"duration":1500,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}]