The name and memory of a legendary local sports writer will live on, thanks to a new scholarship program.
The Steve Batterson Memorial Scholarship program was recently established through a partnership between the Quad Cities River Bandits and the University of Iowa’s independent newspaper, The Daily Iowan.
The first recipient of that scholarship is Brad Schultz, 21, of Indianola, Iowa, who is currently the assistant sports editor of The Daily Iowan newspaper.
“I didn’t know Steve, but I knew his name and his stories. … He was a world-class individual,” Mr. Schultz said during a brief news conference Wednesday morning, April 30, at Modern Woodmen Park in Davenport.
Mr. Schultz is a junior at the University of Iowa. He is expected to serve as sports editor in the fall. Currently in his second year with the nationally recognized publication, Mr. Schultz is majoring in journalism and mass communication, and has covered numerous Hawkeyes sports, including baseball, football, men’s basketball, golf, and women’s wrestling.
As the recipient of the new scholarship, the Iowa student will receive a $1,000 scholarship and work as a paid summer intern with the River Bandits. During this internship, he will “tell the stories of the many young people who excel in athletics across eastern Iowa,” according to information from the River Bandits.
Jason Brummond, publisher of The Daily Iowan, praised Mr. Schultz, calling him a worthy recipient of the scholarship honor.
“Brad embodies many of the traits that made Steve a special journalist and community member – dedicated, hardworking, thoughtful and kind,” he said.
While much of Wednesday’s event was devoted to celebrating Mr. Schultz and the new scholarship, much of it focused on remembering and honoring Steve Batterson.
Mr. Batterson was 61 years old when he died on June 27, 2023. He was a sports writer at the Quad-City Times newspaper for 38 years. During his career, he won the Iowa Sports Writer of the Year contest three times. He wrote about almost everything in sports, including high school games, University of Iowa teams and covered more than 2,000 games at Modern Woodmen Park. A University of Iowa alum, he also served on the University of Iowa Student Publications Board of Trustees for 19 years.
“He was just a special guy. He was a storyteller. … He just put his head down every day and did his job,” said Dave Heller, owner of the River Bandits, adding that Mr. Batterson was “one of my favorite people.”
During the brief announcement, Mr. Brummond recalled first meeting Mr. Batterson during his own freshman year at the University of Iowa. “Steve was one of those guys who took me under his wings,” he added.
Mr. Batterson’s brother, Jeff Batterson, also was in attendance. He said his brother would feel at home at the ceremony because Modern Woodmen Park was his “home away from home.”
“If he had a day off from work, he went to a ball game here,” he added.
Mr. Jeff Batterson said his brother would like the idea of a scholarship being created to help young writers learn and practice sports journalism. However, he would “feel a little out of place” at the news conference because he never wanted to be the center of attention. He always kept himself out of the story and kept the focus on the people playing sports, his brother added.
Ironically, Steve Batterson played very little sports himself, Jeff Batterson told the QCBJ following the news conference. His one experience at playing team sports came during his days growing up in Washington, Iowa. He was in seventh grade and went to a junior high basketball practice when his playing days came to a painful end.
“He sprained his ankle during the first day of practice and never played sports again. … He ended up writing about sports,” he added.
