Tom Kowalski was well respected in the Detroit area for his coverage of the Detroit Lions. But he was hardly a Michigan secret.

Kowalski, who covered the Detroit Lions for 30 years, has been named winner of the Professional Football Writers of America McCann Award which is given annually to a reporter who has made a long and distinguished contribution to pro football through coverage.

Kowalski died unexpectedly at age 51 last August.

As a member of the PFWA I nominated him for the award. As I stated then, I wasn’t putting him up for the award because he died, but rather because he did such a great job on the Lions’ beat for 30 years.

He had started as a sports writer at The Oakland Press in 1978 and then moved to Booth Newspapers in 1997.

He first started covering the Lions at age 21 and was there for the good years in the 1990s and many, many losing seasons.

Kowalski, also known as Killer, was well-known in the Detroit area for his writing, along with his WDFN radio show and appearances on WJBK Fox 2.

Also nominated were Bob Glauber, national football columnist for N.Y. Newsday; Ron Borges, Boston Herald columnist; Vinny DiTrani, retired from The Record; and Dave Goldberg, retired NFL writer for the Associated Press.

Kowalski’s friends have started a foundation in his honor. The first event will be a golf outing on Aug. 27. For more information, see www.killercares.org.