Skip Bayless

American sports commentator Skip Bayless was born John Edward Bayless II in Oklahoma City, OK. Raised in Oklahoma City, Bayless was only ever called Skip by his parents, who owned and operated the Hickory House restaurant. He had a passion for sports at a young age playing baseball and basketball through school. As a high-achieving student, he was encouraged to become the lead sports columnist for the school newspaper. He earned the Grantland Rice Scholarship for sports writers to attend Vanderbilt University and graduated in 1974. Following graduation Bayless was hired by the Miami Herald writing sports features. From there, he moved first to the Los Angeles Times, then to Texas and The Dallas Morning News and the Dallas Times Herald, earning accolades for sports writing along the way. He stayed in Dallas for 17 years, writing three books on the Dallas Cowboys and breaking into radio and television commentary. He first joined "The Sports Reporters" (ESPN, 1988-2017) as an occasional panelist. In 2004 Bayless was hired full-time by ESPN and began appearing on the morning show "Cold Pizza" (ESPN2, 2003-07). The show was reorganized as "First Take" (ESPN, 2007-16) and Bayless continued to be a more prominent presence in sports commentary. In 2016, he joined Fox Sports with the sports talk show "Undisputed" (Fox Sports 1, 2016-).