J.G. Taylor Spink
From BR Bullpen
John George Taylor Spink
- Born October 6, 1888 in St. Louis, MO USA
- Died December 7, 1962 in Clayton, MO USA
[edit] Biographical information
J.G. Taylor Spink was the owner and publisher of The Sporting News from 1914 to 1962.
He inherited the magazine from his father and ran it from April 22, 1914, until his death on December 7, 1962. During that time, the magazine was such essential reading that it was widely known as "the Bible of baseball". During World War II, he had sent free copies to US servicemen overseas, and later expanded it to include all sports, mainly including boxing and football in its coverage.
In 1962, the Baseball Hall of Fame inaugurated the J.G. Taylor Spink Award in his honor (fittingly, he was the award's first recipient, albeit posthumously). The annual award is given for meritorious service in baseball coverage in print. He also introduced a number of other publications that were essential reading for fans and journalists alike, and which have become tremendous sources of information for later-day researchers. These include The Sporting News Record Book, Daguerreotypes (biographies and statistics of baseball's early stars), the Baseball Register and The Sporting News Baseball Guide.
He was the son of Charles Spink, the father of C.C. Johnson Spink, the nephew of Al Spink and cousin of Ernest Lanigan. In 2011, he was honored with the Henry Chadwick Award.
[edit] Further Reading
- Steve Gietschier: "Taylor Spink", in The Baseball Research Journal, SABR, Volume 40, Number 1 (Spring 2011), p. 126.
