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Introduction:
Founded in 1886 by Alfred H. Spink, The Sporting News (TSN) was nicknamed "The Bible of Baseball." Based in St. Louis Missouri, The Sporting News played a central role in distributing information about baseball for over 100 years. The Spink family ran the publication for most of its existence; with its most notable owners being J.G. Taylor Spink and C.C. Johnson Spink.
Starting in the 1970s, readership of the print version diminished with the advent of other publications and media, causing the publication to be sold to several entities. During the height of its importance, TSN built a significant research library and archives on sports topics.
In 2020, the bulk of this archives and library was given to Lindenwood University. For more information about this collection please visit The Sporting News Collection within the Digital Commons @ Lindenwood University.
About this project:
This digital exhibit was created by a Public History class at Lindenwood in spring 2022. The object is to give students hands-on experience with processing archival materials and creating public history products. Each student worked from a box in the Spink Collection in the The Sporting News Research Archives at Lindenwood, looking for themes and common threads across time and their specific collection boxes. One thing students came to realize is that sport history isn’t just about sports, but that it functions within broader social and cultural histories as well.
