STARKVILLE — Don Foster was known by many in the Starkville community as a charismatic writer and sports editor for the Starkville Daily News.
His death June 6 at his home in West Point has since caused an outpouring of emotion from former athletes, coaches, parents and fellow sports writers from around the state.
More than 100 of those friends and family members gathered Tuesday night at the new Starkville Sportsplex multi-purpose building on Lynn Lane to commemorate the man who some called a walking encyclopedia of local sports knowledge.
Foster, 70, was the type of writer who wanted to get every athlete”s name in the paper, said Don Norman, publisher of the Starkville Daily News and the Daily Times Leader in West Point.
“It was all about the kids,” Norman said. “It wasn”t about anyone else. It wasn”t about this school getting any more coverage than anybody else. It was all about the athletes.”
Starkville Academy girls basketball coach Glenn Schmidt talked to Foster time and time again after her team”s wins and losses. Foster was eternally optimistic and would help coaches see the positive side of their team”s performances, she said, even after a blowout loss.
“As a coach, it”s hard to talk to a sports writer after you lose … but Don made it easy,” Schmidt said.
Schmidt also praised Foster”s ability to spot talent.
“He did have an affection for very talented athletes,” Schmidt said. “He could spot good players.”
Schmidt recalled Foster showing up to a reunion of Starkville Academy players in his later years. Although he didn”t recall all of their names, he remembered faces and shots, Schmidt said, and maintained a smile from ear to ear.
“He loved our children,” Schmidt said. “He loved our community. The sad thing is that for the last 40 years we might not have realized what a beacon of light he was for Starkville.”
Foster was hired by the Daily Times Leader to work on the production desk Sept. 1, 1968. He worked in several roles at the West Point paper and at the Starkville Daily News over the years, from sports writer to managing editor to sports editor.
Danny Carlisle, a basketball coach at Starkville High School, said he formed a friendship with Foster over the years. The pair interacted regularly while dealing with SHS”s sporting events, but they also talked about other things.
“I stayed in that (Starkville Daily News) parking lot a lot of nights, not talking about sports, but talking about life,” Carlisle said.
Like Schmidt, Carlisle remembers Foster being optimistic about his team”s performances, even when they lost.
“He was the most positive person about life that I think I”ve ever met,” Carlisle said.
Larry Templeton, former athletic director at Mississippi State University, recalls Foster buying tickets to football, basketball and baseball games, even though he had a press pass and could get in for free. Foster would give the tickets away to people who were less fortunate, Templeton said. He did this hundreds of times throughout his years.
“To say he was a good man is an understatement,” Templeton said.
Foster”s son, Charles Allan Foster, gave an emotional testament about his father that left few dry eyes in the multi-purpose building.
“He loved you guys so much,” Charles Allan said. “He loved this community so much.”
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