Ute 1985
Born in Ute, Iowa in 1906, he skipped so many grades in country school, he graduated when he was 14 years old. He got his journalism degree from the University of Iowa and went to work as a reporter on the Cedar Rapids Gazette. In 1939 he was named Sports Editor, just in time to become good friends with Nile Kinnick and the Ironmen. In 1948, he became Sports Director of WMT Radio and later both WMT Radio and TV until his retirement. Tait was unusual in as much as he really cared about every young athlete he met and he spoke at thousands of banquets over the years. He devoted so much attention to high school sports, that he took a lot of ribbing from his self-styled sophisticated colleagues who though news had to come from big schools and colleges. He pioneered broadcasting in girls sports. While Tait knew most of the big names in national sports, he still considered high school sports to be where it all started and considered the young athletes to be just as important as established stars. His wife Dotty said “You picked a good guy to honor – I know he would be pleased.”