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The Sporting News

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The Sporting News
CategoriesSports
FrequencyWeekly (1886–2008)
Fortnightly (2008–2011)
Monthly (2011–2012)
First issue1886
Final issue2012 (print)
CompanySporting News Holdings
CountryUnited States
Based inCharlotte, North Carolina
Websitewww.sportingnewsEdit this at Wikidata
ISSN1041-2859

The Sporting Newsis a website and former magazine publication owned by Sporting News Holdings, which is a U.S.-based sports media company formed in December 2020 by a private investor consortium. It was originally established in 1886 as a print magazine. It became the dominant American publication coveringbaseball,acquiring the nickname "The Bible of Baseball".[1]

From 2002 to February 2022, it was known simply asSporting News.In December 2012,The Sporting Newsended print publication and shifted to a digital-only publication. It currently has editions in the United States, Canada, Australia, and Japan.

History

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Early history

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  • March 17, 1886:The Sporting News(TSN), founded in St. Louis[2]byAlfred H. Spink,a director of theSt. Louis Brownsbaseball team, publishes its first edition. The weekly newspaper sells for 5 cents. Baseball, horse racing and professional wrestling received the most coverage in the first issue. Meanwhile, the sporting weekliesClipperandSporting Lifewere based in New York and Philadelphia. By World War I,TSNwould be the only national baseball newspaper.
  • 1901:The American League, another rival to baseball's National League, begins playing.TSNwas a vocal supporter of the new league and its founder,Ban Johnson.Both parties advocated cleaning up the sport, in particular ridding it of liquor sales, gambling and assaults on umpires.
  • 1903:TSNeditor Arthur Flanner helps draft the National Agreement, a document that brought a truce between the AL and NL and helped bring about the modernWorld Series.
  • 1904:New York photographerCharles Conlonbegins taking portraits of major league players as they pass through the city's three ballparks: the Polo Grounds, Yankee Stadium and Ebbets Field. His images, many of which were featured inTSN,have become treasured symbols of baseball's past.
  • 1914:Alfred's son,J.G. Taylor Spink,takes over the paper.
  • 1936:TSNnames its first major leagueSporting News Player of the Year Award,Carl Hubbellof the New York Giants. It is the oldest and most prestigious award given to the single player in MLB who had the most outstanding season. To this day, it remains voted on by MLB players.
  • 1942:After decades of being intertwined with baseball,TSNadds in-season football coverage.
  • 1946:TSNexpands its football coverage with an eight-page tabloid publication titledThe Quarterback.The tab is later renamed theAll-Sports Newsas coverage of other sports is added, including professional and college basketball and hockey.
  • 1962:J.G. Taylor Spink dies. His son C.C. Johnson Spink takes over the publication. In 1962, after Spink's death, theBaseball Writers' Association of America(BBWAA) instituted theJ. G. Taylor Spink Awardas the highest award given to its members. Spink was also the first recipient.
  • 1967:TSNpublishes its first full-color photo, a cover image of Orioles starFrank Robinson.
  • 1977:The Spink family sellsTSNtoTimes Mirrorin 1977.[3]
  • 1981:C.C. Johnson Spink sellsTSNtoTribune Company.
  • 1991:The Sporting Newstransitions to a glossy, full-color all-sports magazine.
  • 1996:The Sporting Newscomes online, serving as a sports content provider for AOL. The following year, it launches sportingnews.
  • 2000:Tribune Company sellsTSNto Vulcan Inc., headed by tech billionairePaul Allen.The following year, the company acquired the One on One Sports radio network, renaming itSporting News Radio.
  • 2002:The magazine drops thedefinite articlefrom its name and becomes justSporting News(SN). Subsequent covers reflect the change.
  • 2006:Vulcan sellsSNto Advance Media, which places the publication under the supervision ofAmerican City Business Journals(ACBJ).
  • 2007:Sporting Newsbegins its move from St. Louis, where it had been based since its founding, to ACBJ's headquarters in Charlotte, N.C. The publication leaves St. Louis for good in 2008, when it also became a bi-weekly publication.

Transition to digital publication

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In 2011,Sporting Newsannounced a deal to take over editorial control ofAOL's sports websiteFanHouse.[4]In December 2012, after 126 years,Sporting Newspublished its final issue as a print publication, and shifted to becoming a digital-only publication.[5]

The following March, ACBJ contributedSporting Newsinto a joint venture with the U.S. assets of sports data companyPerform Group,known as Perform Sporting News Limited and doing business as Sporting News Media. Perform owned 65% of Sporting News Media.Sporting Newswould join Perform Group's other domestic properties, such as its video syndication unit ePlayer and its soccer websiteGoal.[6]The deal excluded the magazine'sSporting News Yearbooksunit andNASCAR Illustrated.[7]Almost immediately after the venture was established,Sporting Newslaid off 13 staff writers.[8]Perform Group acquired the remainder of Sporting News Media in 2015.[6]

Under Perform's ownership,Sporting Newsshifted to a moretabloid-like editorial direction.[6]The site introduced a new logo and website design in 2016.[9]Following Perform's acquisition of ACBJ's remaining stake, it began to align itself more closely with the company's other units, including replacingAssociated Pressarticles with Perform's own Omnisport wire service for articles and video content (which began to constitute a sizable portion of the site's overall content).[6]Sporting Newsalso began to introduce new localized versions in other markets, with a focus on countries where it had launched its sports streaming serviceDAZN.These sites are, in turn, used to promote the DAZN service.[6]Perform Media president Juan Delgado explained that the company was trying to preserve the heritage of theSporting Newsbrand by still publishing original content, while also publishing content oriented towardssocial mediato appeal to younger users.[6]

Later history

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In September 2018, Perform Group spun out its consumer properties, includingSporting Newsand DAZN, into a new company known as DAZN Group. The remaining sports data business became Perform Content, and was sold in 2019 toVista Equity Partnersand merged withSTATS LLC.[10][11]

In the summer of 2020,Lindenwood UniversityofSt. Charles, Missouri,acquired the archives collection ofThe Sporting Newsfrom ACBJ.[12]The collection was described as consisting of "10,000+ books on baseball, football, hockey, basketball, NCAA, and other sports."[12]

In December 2020, DAZN Group sold Sporting News to a private investment consortium, which became Sporting News Holdings.[13]

Athlete of the Year

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Sportsman of the Year

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A differentSportsman of the Yearaward is presented bySports Illustratedmagazine

From 1968 to 2007, the magazine selected one or more individuals asSportsman of the Year.On four occasions, the award was shared by two recipients. Twice, in 1993 and 2000, the award went 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 announcedNew England PatriotsquarterbackTom Bradyas 2007 Sportsman of the Year, making Brady the first to repeat as a recipient of individual honors.Mark McGwireof theSt. Louis Cardinalswas also honored twice, but shared his second award withSammy Sosaof theChicago Cubs.

In 2008, the award was replaced by two awards: "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.[14]

Pro Athlete of the Year

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College Athlete of the Year

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Athlete of the Year

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Beginning in 2011, the awards were merged back into a singular selection,Athlete of the Year.[14]

Sport-specific awards

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Major League Baseball

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See also:Baseball awards

TSNsponsors its own annual Team,Player,Pitcher,Rookie,Reliever,Comeback Player,Manager,andExecutiveof the Year awards. Many fans once held the newspaper's baseball awards at equal or higher esteem than those of theBaseball Writers' Association of America.[23]Prior to 2005, theSNComeback Player Award was generally recognized as the principal award of its type, as MLB did not give such an award until that year.

Minor League Baseball

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Basketball

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NFL

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College football awards

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Also, between 1975 and 2005, Sporting News conducted an annual poll and named a national champion for Division I-A (now Division I FBS). It is regarded as a "major selector" in NCAA official records books.[26]

Notable staff

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  • Thomas G. Osenton,president and chief operating officer of Sporting News Publishing Company and publisher ofThe Sporting Newsweekly
  • Bob Ferguson,journalist and author ofWho's Who In Canadian Sport[27]

Footnotes

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  1. ^Roy Blount Jr. (March 17, 1986)."The Bible of Baseball hits 100 next week, and when the".Sports Illustrated.Time Inc.Archived fromthe originalon September 22, 2013.RetrievedJanuary 30,2013.
  2. ^Christopher Zara (December 22, 2012)."In Memoriam: Magazines We Lost In 2012".International Business Times.Archivedfrom the original on February 24, 2021.RetrievedNovember 8,2014.
  3. ^"The Times Mirror Company History,"Archived2021-02-24 at theWayback MachineFunding Universe. Accessed Nov. 20, 2017.
  4. ^Sandomir, Richard (2011-01-13)."Sporting News to Take Control of AOL FanHouse Content".The New York Times.ISSN0362-4331.Archivedfrom the original on 2019-10-14.Retrieved2019-10-14.
  5. ^Mullis, Steve (11 December 2012)."After 126 Years, 'The Sporting News' Stops The Presses".NPR.org.Archivedfrom the original on 2021-02-03.Retrieved2019-10-14.
  6. ^abcdef"How British owners turned America's oldest sports publication upside down".Yahoo! Finance.August 2017.Archivedfrom the original on 2021-02-03.Retrieved2019-10-14.
  7. ^"Perform Group To Combine U.S. Sports Assets With Sporting News Brand".Sports Business Journal.Archivedfrom the original on 2021-02-04.Retrieved2019-10-14.
  8. ^"Sporting News Cuts Staff, Significantly: 12 Writers/Editors Fired in Surprising Bloodbath".The Big Lead.28 March 2013.Archivedfrom the original on 2019-10-14.Retrieved2019-10-14.
  9. ^"Sporting News unveils new logo, new-look website; readers react".Awful Announcing.2016-11-08.Archivedfrom the original on 2020-11-08.Retrieved2020-12-14.
  10. ^"Report: DAZN owner planning split to increase focus on OTT platform".SportsPro.17 October 2018.Archivedfrom the original on 2020-11-12.Retrieved2019-04-25.
  11. ^"DAZN Group sells Perform".Broadcast.Archivedfrom the original on 2020-10-22.Retrieved2019-04-25.
  12. ^ab"Lindenwood Acquires The Sporting News Archives"(PDF).Lindenwood University Staff Council Newsletter.Fall 2020.Archived(PDF)from the original on February 4, 2021.RetrievedDecember 17,2020– via lindenwood.edu.
  13. ^Novy-Williams, Eben (2020-12-14)."DAZN Sells Sporting News to British Family Office with Gaming Ties".Sportico.Archivedfrom the original on 2021-02-18.Retrieved2020-12-14.
  14. ^ab"History of The Sporting News' Athlete of the Year awards: Full list of past winners, 1968-2023".Sporting News.20 December 2023.Archivedfrom the original on 14 January 2024.Retrieved19 July2024.
  15. ^Ken Bradley (Dec 18, 2008)."Eli Manning named Sporting News' Pro Athlete of the Year".NJ.RetrievedJuly 19,2024.
  16. ^Ken Bradley (Dec 17, 2009)."2009 Sporting News Pro Athlete of the Year: Mariano Rivera, Yankees closer".Sporting News.Archived fromthe originalon March 28, 2010.RetrievedDecember 17,2009.
  17. ^Steve Greenberg (Dec 15, 2010)."2010 SN Pro Athlete of the Year: Roy Halladay".The Sporting News.Archived fromthe originalon November 8, 2011.RetrievedDecember 17,2009.
  18. ^Marc Gignac (Dec 23, 2008)."Stephen Curry Named Sporting News College Athlete of the Year".Davidson College.RetrievedJuly 19,2024.
  19. ^Ken Bradley (Dec 17, 2009)."2009 Sporting News College Athlete of the Year: Colt McCoy, Texas QB".The Sporting News.Archived fromthe originalon January 24, 2010.RetrievedDecember 17,2009.
  20. ^Steve Greenberg (Dec 15, 2010)."2010 SN College Athlete of the Year: Kyle Singler".The Sporting News.Archived fromthe originalon January 22, 2012.RetrievedDecember 17,2009.
  21. ^Foster, Jason (December 31, 2021)."Shohei Ohtani is the 2021 Sporting News Athlete of the Year".The Sporting News.Archivedfrom the original on December 30, 2021.RetrievedDecember 31,2021.
  22. ^DeCourcy, Mike (December 19, 2023)."Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese are The Sporting News Athletes of the Year".The Sporting News.Archivedfrom the original on December 20, 2023.RetrievedDecember 22,2023.
  23. ^Gillette, Gary; Palmer, Pete; Gammons, Peter (2008).The ESPN Baseball Encyclopedia(Fifth ed.). Sterling Publishing Company, Inc. p. 1807.ISBN978-1-4027-6051-8.
  24. ^Clifton Brown (January 30, 2013)."Sporting News 2012 NFL awards: Robert Griffin III, Rookie of the Year – NFL".AOL.Archived fromthe originalon January 24, 2013.RetrievedJanuary 30,2013.
  25. ^abFrom the 1950s through 1979,The Sporting Newspublished All-Conference teams. In 1980 it began choosing an All-Pro team.
  26. ^"2018 NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision Records"(PDF).National Collegiate Athletics Association.Archived(PDF)from the original on November 7, 2020.RetrievedSeptember 3,2019.
  27. ^Desaulniers, Darren (February 20, 2009)."Longtime Citizen sports writer among Hall inductees".Ottawa Citizen.Ottawa, Ontario. p. 15.Archivedfrom the original on October 24, 2021.RetrievedNovember 20,2021.Free access icon
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