Who was Ray Scott?

Ray Scott was an American outdoorsman who founded the Bass Anglers Sportsman Society (B.A.S.S.) in 1967.

The idea for a bass fishing tour came to Ray Scott who at the time when he was an insurance salesman, rain cut short a fishing outing with his friend in Jackson in 1967.

Whiles stuck in his room watching sports on television, Ray Scott thought to himself; Why not begin the equivalent of the PGA Tour for bass fishing?

Ray Scott held his first tournament at Beaver Lake in Arkansas where 106 anglers paid $100 to compete over three days for $5000 in prizes.

A second tournament followed in the same year and in 1968, he formed the Bass Anglers Sportsman Society.

As the “godfather” of modern bass fishing, Ray Scott created the first national bass tournament trail (the Bassmaster Tournament Trail), Bassmaster Magazine, The Bassmasters television show and the BASS Federation.

Ray Scott has received countless other awards for his achievements during his 50 years in the bass fishing industry, but one that may have meant the most to him was the Horatio Alger Award, which he received in 2003 for overcoming adversity to achieve the “American Dream.”

Sadly, Ray Scott died on May 8, 2022 aged 88 in Hayneville, Ala.