By Tarohn Finley
Terry Foster’s passion for writing began early in his childhood on a Vancouver Street block in Detroit.
As a young boy, Foster followed his neighbor, Miss Wilson, on an adventure to downtown Detroit and wrote about it afterward. That experience sparked his love for storytelling and helped him realize journalism was what he wanted to pursue.
“At that time, there weren’t many Black sports writers. People discouraged me from doing it,” Foster said. “They didn’t do it to be mean. I think they were trying to protect me. I had these grandiose ideas, and this is not what Black people do. They suggested maybe I try something else, something with my hands. But I knew this was what I wanted to do.”
Foster began building his skills as sports editor at Cass Technical High School and later as a sports writer at Central Michigan University. However, he credits his first professional job at the Grand Rapids Press with truly teaching him how to be a journalist. There, he covered multiple sports, learned to work under tight deadlines, and developed the discipline required in a newsroom.
After 16 months and two days at the Press, Foster turned a freelancing opportunity with the Detroit Free Press into a full-time position. At the Free Press, he worked alongside respected sportswriters such as Johnette Howard and Cliff Brown. Together, they helped launch the paper’s city zone editions, an effort that allowed for more localized coverage. During this time, Foster also began rethinking traditional game stories by writing with an emphasis on what came next rather than what had already happened.
“One of my philosophies is it’s not an old paper, it’s a newspaper,” Foster said.
That forward-looking style eventually led him to cover University of Michigan football. Foster spent 32 years at the Free Press before leaving to join The Detroit News, where he chose to cover the Bad Boy Pistons instead of Michigan basketball during the Maui Invitational tournament.
Over his career, Foster covered some of Detroit’s most iconic sports moments, including Vinny Johnson’s game-winning shot against Portland in the 1990 NBA Finals and three Stanley Cup championships by the Detroit Red Wings. Despite those highlights, Foster says the most meaningful moments came from the people he met along the way.
“I learned from Isiah Thomas that this is a people business,” Foster said. “Don’t become a walking notepad. Sometimes just roll in and ask, ‘How are things today?’”
Foster interviewed legendary athletes such as Michael Jordan, but his most memorable interactions were with Charles Barkley and Shaquille O’Neal, who surprised him with their genuine interest in his life.
“I was interviewing Shaquille O’Neal for something, and he started asking me questions about what growing up on the West Side of Detroit was like and my family,” Foster said. “The two people I found were more interested in you than you would expect were Charles Barkley and Shaquille O’Neal, and lo and behold, who’s doing that NBA show.”
Later in his career, Foster transitioned into radio, co-hosting sports talk shows and expanding his voice beyond print. He credits one of his first mentees, Jemele Hill, with helping connect him to Mike Valenti at 97.1 The Ticket. Since leaving the station in 2017, Foster has continued writing as a freelancer and talking sports on the Woodward Sports Network.
Today, Foster dedicates time to mentoring young journalists at Central Michigan, Oakland University, and Renaissance High School.
“A guy named Ken Clover told me when I was a youngster, ‘You gotta reach back.’ You’re gonna make it in this business; you can’t just lift yourself up and not reach back and try to lift others back. So I always remember that and believe in trying to help others in any way that I can.”
Despite opportunities to leave, Foster has spent his entire career in Detroit and has no intention of changing that.
“I just wanted to do it here, where I grew up,” Foster said. “I loved the people, the vibe, and the idea of making an impact where it mattered most.”