WATCH: Trailblazing Sportswriter Barbara Caywood Was Among Groundbreaking Female Sports Journalist in America
By Space Coast Daily // March 12, 2026
covered generations of student-athletes breaking down barriers as the first female sports-writing professionals in America
ABOVE VIDEO: Few have accomplished as much as Barbara Simmers Caywood in their lifetime. Capping a 46-year career in journalism, she retired in 2005 after covering generations of student-athletes and breaking down barriers as one of the first female sports-writing professionals in America.
Capping a 46-year career in journalism, Barbara Caywood retired in 2005 after covering generations of student-athletes and breaking down barriers as one of the first female sports-writing professionals in America.
BARBARA CAYWOOD – 2013 INDUCTEE
• Member of FHSAA Hall of Fame
• AAU Media Person of the Year
• Bob Davis Service Award
PASSION FOR WRITING & SPORTS
Few have accomplished as much as Barbara Simmers Caywood in their lifetime.
Capping a 46-year career in journalism, she retired in 2005 after covering generations of student-athletes and breaking down barriers as one of the first female sports-writing professionals in America.
Her accomplishments in sports journalism make her eminently worthy of induction into the Space Coast Sports Hall of Fame.
Growing up in Harrisonburg, Va., Barbara fell in love with sports and decided to pursue a career that blended her passion for writing and competition with her unique ability to tell athletes’ stories from a personal perspective.
Accompanying her father to a few Washington Redskins professional football games piqued her interest in the sport and inspired her to learn the rules and as much as she could about the sport.
Her family moved to Florida in 1951 when her father took a job as an accountant for the Growers Container Company, and she graduated from Ocala High School in 1955.
Her next stop was Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas, where she earned her journalism degree in 1959.
Her first job after college was as the sports editor of her hometown newspaper, the Ocala Star-Banner, for a year. The work was everything and more than she expected from a newspaper career.
She learned the newspaper business from the ground up, covering every sport imaginable and meeting customary deadlines.
FIRST FEMALE SPORTS WRITER IN FLORIDA
When an opportunity arose in 1960 to relocate to Kansas for a position as assistant sports editor at the Hutchinson News, she decided to accept the job and move west.
Covering Hutchinson athletics was a joy for Barbara, and through her association with so many families and students in the community, she came to appreciate the sacrifices many parents make to help their children play youth sports.
Her daily stories championed the achievements of youth athletes and kept the public informed about their activities and dreams for the future.
However, she covered much more than youth and prep sports. Hutchinson was the home of the National Junior College Athletic Association Men’s Division I Basketball Tournament and afforded Barbara the opportunity to expand her horizons.
She covered the event like few ever had before and made a name for herself as someone who knew college athletics inside and out.
As an established, highly credible source on university athletics, she was given the coveted assignment to cover Kansas University sports for the paper.
The 1960s in America heralded changes in gender attitudes and status, and Barbara found herself in the thick of things, soon thrust into the national spotlight when she was refused admission to the KU football press box to cover a game because she was a woman.
She was, in fact, the first legitimate member of the working media to be barred from the press box by school officials, and also the last member of the working media to be barred by the school on the basis of gender bias, because of the ensuing furor.
The next time she knocked on the Kansas University press box door, they let her in. Through sheer perseverance, she overcame years of male dominance in sports writing, spent the next 24 years relating the stories of athletes and coaches in the Jayhawk State, and holds the distinction of being the first female sportswriter in Kansas and Florida, and only the third in the nation.
LIVING LEGEND WITH COACHES & PLAYERS
In 1984, Barbara ventured back to Florida, becoming the prep sports editor at Florida Today.
For the next 21 years, she lavished her attention on prep sports in Brevard and, through relationships based on mutual respect and admiration, became a living legend to coaches, school administrators, players, and their families.
Her son, Kurt Caywood, also became a sportswriter and, like his mother, has enjoyed a long career in journalism.
During her distinguished career, she was recognized as the 1986 National AAU Media Person of the Year, and received the 2001 Bob Davis Service Award for Outstanding Contributions to High School Football and the 2003 Hartwell Conklin Service Award for Outstanding Contributions to High School Track & Field.
She was inducted into the Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA) Hall of Fame in 2005 and the Florida Track and Field Association. Hall of Fame in 2009.
FOR INFORMATION ABOUT THE SPACE COAST SPORTS HALL OF FAME, call 321-615-8111 or e-mail Contact@SpaceCoastDaily.com
CLICK HERE to see all the members of the Space Coast Sports Hall of Fame.
