J.G. Taylor Spink Award Honorees

Under J.G. Taylor Spink's direction, The Sporting News not only reported the National Pastime, but helped develop and elevate the game.

The J.G. Taylor Spink Award, named after the late editor of The Sporting News, has been voted upon annually since 1962 when Spink himself was the recipient of the inaugural honor. The award honors a baseball writer (or writers) "for meritorious contributions to baseball writing" and is presented at the Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony by that year's President of the Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA).

The award is voted upon annually by the BBWAA, via a meeting and subsequent "show of hands" either at the preceding year's World Series or Winter Meetings. A nominee is recommended by the BBWAA's Screening Committee prior to the meeting. Each award recipient (not to be confused with an inductee) is presented with a certificate during the Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony and is recognized in the "Scribes & Mikemen" exhibit in the Library of the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

1962 — J.G. Taylor Spink
1963 — Ring Lardner
1964 — Hugh Fullerton
1965 — Charles Dryden
1966 — Grantland Rice
1967 — Damon Runyon
1968 — Harry G. Salsinger
1969 — Sid Mercer
1970 — Heywood C. Broun
1971 — Frank Graham
1972 — Dan Daniel, Fred Lieb, J. Roy Stockton
1973 — Warren Brown, John Drebinger,
               John F. Kieran
1974 — John Carmichael, James Isaminger
1975 — Tom Meany, Shirley Povich
1976 — Harold Kaese, Red Smith
1977 — Gordon Cobbledick, Edgar Munzel
1978 — Tim Murnane, Dick Young
1979 — Bob Broeg, Tommy Holmes
1980 — Joe Reichler, Milton Richman
1981 — Allen Lewis, Bob Addie
1982 — Si Burick
1983 — Ken Smith
1984 — Joe McGuff
1985 — Earl Lawson
1986 — Jack Lang
1987 — Jim Murray
1988 — Bob Hunter, Ray Kelly
1989 — Jerome Holtzman
1990 — Phil Collier
1991 — Ritter Collett
1992 — Leonard Koppett, Bus Saidt
1993 — Wendell Smith
1994 — No Award Presented
1995 — Joseph Durso
1996 — Charley Feeney
1997 — Sam Lacy
1998 — Bob Stevens
1999 — Hal Lebovitz
2000 — Ross Newhan
2001 — Joe Falls
2002 — Hal McCoy
2003 — Murray Chass
2004 — Peter Gammons
2005 — Tracy Ringolsby
2006 — Rick Hummel
2008* — Larry Whiteside
2009 — Nick Peters

*In 2007, the BBWAA changed the year designation for the Spink Award to coincide with that of the Hall of Fame induction ceremony.