The Sporting News
The first edition of The Sporting News hit newsstands on the 17th of March 1886 in St. Louis. Alfred H. Spink, a director for the St. Louis Browns baseball team, launched this weekly newspaper to cover baseball, horse racing, and professional wrestling. Each copy sold for five cents during an era when other sporting weeklies like Clipper operated out of New York. By World War I, TSN stood alone as the only national newspaper devoted entirely to baseball. In 1901, the American League began play as a rival to the National League. TSN became an outspoken supporter of Ban Johnson and his new league's reforms against gambling and liquor sales at ballparks. Editor Arthur Flanner helped draft the National Agreement in 1903 to establish peace between the two leagues. That agreement laid the foundation for what we now know as the modern World Series. Photographer Charles Conlon began taking portraits of major league players in 1904 as they passed through three New York ballparks. His images appeared frequently in TSN and later became enduring visual records of early baseball history. J. G. Taylor Spink assumed control of the paper in 1914 after his father Alfred died. Under his tenure, the publication solidified its central role in baseball culture. The magazine introduced the first major league Sporting News Player of the Year Award in 1936. Carl Hubbell, a pitcher for the New York Giants, received that inaugural honor. This award remains notable today because it is voted on by Major League Baseball players themselves.
Ownership of the publication changed hands several times beginning in the late 20th century. The Spink family sold TSN to Times Mirror in 1977. C. C. Johnson Spink then sold the publication to the Tribune Company in 1981. In 1991, The Sporting News transitioned from a newspaper format into a glossy, full-color all-sports magazine. The brand expanded into digital media in 1996 by serving as a sports content provider for AOL. A website called sportingnews.com launched in 1997. Tribune sold the company to Vulcan Inc., led by Paul Allen, in 2000. That same year, Vulcan acquired the One on One Sports radio network and rebranded it as Sporting News Radio. Vulcan sold the publication to Advance Media in 2006. Advance Media placed it under the supervision of American City Business Journals. Beginning in 2007, the organization initiated a relocation from its longtime home in St. Louis to ACBJ's headquarters in Charlotte, North Carolina. The move was completed in 2008, the same year the publication transitioned to a bi-weekly schedule. In December 2020, DAZN Group sold Sporting News to a private investment consortium. This group formed Sporting News Holdings, a U.S.-based sports media company created that month.
In 2011, Sporting News announced a deal to take over editorial control of AOL's sports website FanHouse. After 126 years, Sporting News published its final issue as a print publication in December 2012. The magazine shifted to becoming a digital-only publication immediately following that decision. The following March, ACBJ contributed Sporting News into a joint venture with Perform Group known as Perform Sporting News Limited. Perform owned 65% of Sporting News Media. The site joined Perform Group's other domestic properties including ePlayer and Goal.com. Almost immediately after the venture was established, Sporting News laid off 13 staff writers. Perform Group acquired the remainder of Sporting News Media in 2015. Under Perform's ownership, Sporting News shifted to a more tabloid-like editorial direction. The site introduced a new logo and website design in 2016. It began aligning itself more closely with Perform's other units by replacing Associated Press articles with Omnisport wire service content. Perform Media president Juan Delgado explained that the company aimed to preserve the heritage of the brand while publishing social media-oriented content for younger users. Later history shows DAZN Group spun out consumer properties like Sporting News and DAZN into a new company in September 2018.
From 1968 to 2007, the magazine selected one or more individuals as Sportsman of the Year. On four occasions, the award was shared by two recipients. Twice, in 1993 and 2000, the honor went to a pair of sportsmen within the same organization. In 1999, the whole New York Yankees team received the award. No winner was chosen in 1987. Mark McGwire of the St. Louis Cardinals was honored twice but shared his second award with Sammy Sosa of the Chicago Cubs. Tom Brady became the first to repeat as a recipient of individual honors when named Sportsman of the Year on the 18th of December 2007. Michael Jordan won the award in 1991 while playing for the Chicago Bulls. In 2008, the award split into Pro Athlete of the Year and College Athlete of the Year. These in turn were replaced by a singular Athlete of the Year award starting in 2011. Aaron Rodgers won that title in 2011 for the Green Bay Packers. LeBron James took the honor in 2012 with the Miami Heat. Shohei Ohtani appeared on the list in both 2021 and 2024. Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese shared the 2023 award.
TSN sponsors its own annual Team, Player, Pitcher, Rookie, Reliever, Comeback Player, Manager, and Executive of the Year awards. Many fans once held the newspaper's baseball awards at equal or higher esteem than those of the Baseball Writers' Association of America. Prior to 2005, the SN Comeback Player Award was generally recognized as the principal award of its type since MLB did not give such an award until that year. The Sporting News Most Valuable Player Award discontinued in 1946. The magazine introduced the Pitcher of the Year award in each league. A Rookie of the Year category existed from 1963 through 2003 with two separate categories for pitchers and players. The Reliever of the Year award ended in 2011. Minor League Baseball received a dedicated Player of the Year Award running from 1936 to 2007. Basketball honors included the NBA Executive of the Year Award active from 1973 to 2008. College basketball featured both Player and Coach of the Year titles. NFL recognition began with the Player of the Year award from 1954 to 1969 and again since 1980. An All-Pro team selection started in 1980 after publishing All-Conference teams from the 1950s through 1979. Between 1975 and 2005, Sporting News conducted an annual poll naming a national champion for Division I-A football.
The publication's cultural influence continued to grow in 1904 when photographer Charles Conlon captured images of major league players. His photographs became enduring visual records of baseball's early history. Following J. G. Taylor Spink's death in 1962, leadership passed to his son C. C. Johnson Spink. That same year, the Baseball Writers' Association of America established the J. G. Taylor Spink Award in his honor. The magazine published its first full-color photograph in 1967 featuring Baltimore Orioles star Frank Robinson on the cover. In the summer of 2020, Lindenwood University of St. Charles, Missouri, acquired the archives collection of The Sporting News from ACBJ. The collection consists of over 10,000 books covering baseball, football, hockey, basketball, NCAA, and other sports. Thomas G. Osenton served as president and chief operating officer of Sporting News Publishing Company. Bob Ferguson worked as a journalist and author of Who's Who In Canadian Sport. The brand currently has editions in the United States, Canada, Australia, and Japan. It remains a dominant American publication covering baseball with the nickname The Bible of Baseball.
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Common questions
When was The Sporting News first published and where?
The first edition of The Sporting News hit newsstands on the 17th of March 1886 in St. Louis.
Who founded The Sporting News and what sports did it cover initially?
Alfred H. Spink launched this weekly newspaper to cover baseball, horse racing, and professional wrestling.
What year did The Sporting News transition from a newspaper to a digital-only publication?
Sporting News published its final issue as a print publication in December 2012 and shifted to becoming a digital-only publication immediately following that decision.
Which award named after J. G. Taylor Spink was established by the Baseball Writers Association of America?
The Baseball Writers' Association of America established the J. G. Taylor Spink Award in his honor following his death in 1962.
How many books are included in the The Sporting News archives acquired by Lindenwood University?
The collection consists of over 10,000 books covering baseball, football, hockey, basketball, NCAA, and other sports.