Sporting News (previously
The Sporting News, and known colloquially as
TSN) is an
American-based
sports magazine. It was established in
1886, and it became the dominant American publication covering
baseball — so much so that it acquired the nickname "The Bible of Baseball". Along with its affiliated radio network,
Sporting News Radio, it is currently owned by
Charlotte, North Carolina-based
American City Business Journals, Inc.
The main sports
SN currently covers are
Major League Baseball (MLB),
National Basketball Association,
National Football League,
National Hockey League,
NASCAR, and
NCAA basketball and
football, with occasional coverage of other sports.
In April, Jeff D'Alessio was appointed editor-in-chief of
Sporting News magazine and
Sporting News Today. D'Alessio came to
Sporting News from
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, where he'd served as college and Sunday sports editor, deputy sports editor and senior editor/days. It is the St. Bonaventure University graduate and Syracuse native's second stint with
SN after previously serving as a senior editor with
SN's website from 2000–02.
Following 122 years of existence as a weekly publication, the magazine switched to a bi-weekly publishing schedule in 2008. Earlier that year, it launched a daily online newspaper,
Sporting News Today.
As part of the summer 2008 staff overhaul,
Sporting News named three managing editors — Paul Kasko (
SN Today), Dan Graf (
SN magazine) and Marcus DiNitto (sportingnews.com).
History
TSN was founded by
Alfred H. Spink, a director of the
St. Louis Browns and former writer for the
Missouri Republican daily newspaper. Each number was 17 by 22 inches, eight pages, price five cents (Cooper 1996). The Browns were champions of the
American Association, one of two major leagues in baseball, with a claim to the championship of the United States or the world based on the disputed 1885
World Series contest with regional rival Chicago, and the undisputed 1886 winner. Meanwhile the sporting weeklies
Clipper and
Sporting Life were based in New York and Philadelphia. By World War I,
TSN would be the only national baseball newspaper. Al Spink had long turned it over to his brother, first hiring Charles as business manager, then selling his stock, and finally departing from writing and editorial work in 1899 (Cooper 1996).
Throughout much of the 20th century
TSN was decidedly non-glamorous, consisting of black-and-white newsprint with staid graphics. However it was the only vehicle for serious sports fans to follow teams from around the nation. For example, each week it printed a box score and blurb for every baseball game played in the
major leagues and numerous minor leagues. Similarly, every issue had a report on each major league baseball team, usually written by a local newspaper's beat writer for that team.
Franklin Gritts, the Cherokee artist, served as TSN's art director from the early 1950s to the mid-1970's.
The Spink family sold
TSN to
Times Mirror in the late 1970s.
With the advent of national sports media in the 1980s such as
USA Today and
ESPN, and of comprehensive web sites run by the major sports leagues in the 1990s,
TSN lost this unique role. Consequently, it evolved into more of a conventional, glossy sports magazine in both appearance and contents. Box scores disappeared from its pages in the late 1980s, but were still made available to subscribers in a separate publication for an undetermined period of time afterwards. The online
SN Today revived the tradition of publishing boxscores in its virtual pages.
In 2001, the company acquired the One on One Sports radio network, renaming it
Sporting News Radio. The same year, it was purchased by
Paul Allen's
Vulcan Inc.In September 2006,
American City Business Journals, Inc. acquired
TSN and its online division. With the change in ownership, the company ceased most of its book publishing efforts. The 2006
Baseball Guide, a
TSN annual in one form or another since the 1920s, was its last. The 2007
Baseball Register, an annual since the early 1940s, was its last. The 2007
Baseball Record Book was only available online, as a download. None of these guides were published in 2008.
Sportsman of the Year
Since 1968, the magazine has selected one or more individuals as recipients of this honor. On four occasions, the award has been shared by two recipients. Twice, in 1993 and 2000, the award has gone to a pair of sportsmen within the same organization. In 1999, the honor was given to a whole team. No winner was chosen in 1987.
On December 18, 2007, the magazine announced
New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady as 2007 Sportsman of the Year, making Brady the first to repeat as a recipient of individual honors.
Mark McGwire of the
St. Louis Cardinals was also honored twice, but shared his second award with
Sammy Sosa of the
Chicago Cubs.
Major-league baseball awards
SN sponsors its own annual
Player, Pitcher, Rookie, Reliever, Comeback Player, Manager, and Executive of the Year awards. Prior to 2005, the
SN Comeback Player Award was generally recognized as the principal award of its type, as MLB did not give such an award until that year.
Annual
One-time only
- The Sporting News Player of the Decade (1999) – Barry Bonds
- Sporting News All-Decade Team (2009)
[Gonzalez, Alden, , Sept. 24, 2009. St. Louis Cardinals official website; MLB.com. MLB Advanced Media, L.P. Retrieved 2009-09-29.][Stone, Larry, , The Seattle Times, Sept. 24, 2009. The Seattle Times Co. Retrieved 2009-09-26.]
- Sporting News Manager of the Decade (2009)
[ – Joe Torre (Dodgers/Yankees)]
- Sporting News Executive of the Decade (2009)
[ - Theo Epstein (Boston Red Sox)]
- Sporting News Performance of the Decade (2009)
[ – Mark Buehrle (Chicago White Sox)]
- Sporting News Game of the Decade (2009)
[ – Game 7, 2001 World Series, Diamondbacks 3, Yankees 2]
Writers
See also
