Inducted 2012
John George Taylor Spink was an intriguing fellow who quit school in the tenth grade and took his first job at the Post-Dispatch, but several months later took an apprenticeship with his father at the St. Louis Sporting News.
He developed an excellent reputation as a reporter, editor and manager, and, upon his father’s death in 1914, he took over the paper and ran it until he died in 1962.
Under his leadership, The Sporting News became “The Bible of Baseball,” and he is credited for helping elevate the game. TSN also expanded to include other sports, particularly boxing and football. He also found time to author books about sports.
After Spink died, the Baseball Writers’ Association inaugurated the J. G. Taylor Spink Award in his honor for meritorious service in baseball print coverage.
