J. G. Taylor Spink Award

For the identically named "J.G. Taylor Spink Award" given by Minor League Baseball and Topps to the "Topps/Minor League Player of the Year", see Topps#Awards.

The J. G. Taylor Spink Award is the highest award given by the Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA) to its members. The award was instituted in 1962 and named after J. G. Taylor Spink, publisher of The Sporting News from 1914 to 1962, who was also the first recipient.

The Spink Award is awarded at the induction ceremonies of the Baseball Hall of Fame the year following the selection of the recipient. In recent years, the Hall of Fame has announced the finalists for the award and final vote totals. Previously, the results were kept secret.

Winners are not considered to be members of the Hall. They are not "inducted" or "enshrined", but are permanently recognized in an exhibit at the Hall's library. For several years in the early 2000s, Spink Award honorees became life members of the Veterans Committee, which elects players whose eligibility for BBWAA consideration has ended, and is also the sole body that elects non-players for induction into the Hall. Starting with elections for induction in 2008, voting on the main Veterans Committee, which then selected only players whose careers began in 1943 or later, was restricted to Hall of Fame members. After further changes announced for the 2011 elections, Spink Award winners are eligible to serve on all three of the Veterans Committee voting bodies that consider candidates from different eras of baseball.

Among the well-known Spink Award winners are Fred Lieb, Shirley Povich, Jerome Holtzman, Ring Lardner, Sam Lacy, and Peter Gammons.

Recipients of the J. G. Taylor Spink Award

Note: For the years below — through 2006 — the year reflects when the recipient was announced; the award is formally presented the following year. In 2007, the BBWAA changed the year designation for the award to coincide with the Hall of Fame induction ceremony, i.e., the year after the award is announced. This makes it appear as though 2007 was skipped, though it was not.

Year	Honoree	Beat
1962	Spink, J. G. TaylorJ. G. Taylor Spink	St. Louis
1963	Lardner, RingRing Lardner	New York City
1964	Fullerton, HughHugh Fullerton	New York City
1965	Dryden, CharlesCharles Dryden	Chicago
1966	Rice, GrantlandGrantland Rice	New York City
1967	Runyon, DamonDamon Runyon	New York City
1968	Salsinger, H. G.H. G. Salsinger	Detroit
1969	Mercer, SidSid Mercer	New York City
1970	Broun, HeywoodHeywood Broun	New York City
1971	Graham, FrankFrank Graham	New York City
1972	Daniel, DanDan Daniel	New York City
1972	Lieb, FredFred Lieb	New York City
1972	Stockton, J. RoyJ. Roy Stockton	St. Louis
1973	Brown, WarrenWarren Brown	Chicago
1973	Drebinger, JohnJohn Drebinger	New York City
1973	Kieran, John F.John F. Kieran	New York City
1974	Carmichael, JohnJohn Carmichael	Chicago
1974	Isaminger, JamesJames Isaminger	Philadelphia
1975	Meany, TomTom Meany	New York City
1975	Povich, ShirleyShirley Povich	Washington, D.C.
1976	Kaese, HaroldHarold Kaese	Boston
1976	Smith, RedRed Smith	New York City
1977	Cobbledick, GordonGordon Cobbledick	Cleveland
1977	Munzel, EdgarEdgar Munzel	Chicago
1978	Murnane, TimTim Murnane	Boston
1978	Young, DickDick Young	New York City
1979	Broeg, BobBob Broeg	St. Louis
1979	Holmes, TommyTommy Holmes	Brooklyn
1980	Reichler, JoeJoe Reichler	New York City
1980	Richman, MiltonMilton Richman	New York City
1981	Lewis, AllenAllen Lewis	Philadelphia
1981	Addie, BobBob Addie	Washington, D.C.
1982	Burick, SiSi Burick	Dayton, Ohio
1983	Smith, KenKen Smith	New York City
1984	McGuff, JoeJoe McGuff	Kansas City, Missouri
1985	Lawson, EarlEarl Lawson	Cincinnati
1986	Lang, JackJack Lang	Brooklyn
1987	Murray, JimJim Murray	Los Angeles
1988	Hunter, BobBob Hunter	Los Angeles
1989	Kelly, RayRay Kelly	Philadelphia
1989	Holtzman, JeromeJerome Holtzman	Chicago
1990	Collier, PhilPhil Collier	San Diego
1991	Collett, RitterRitter Collett	Dayton, Ohio
1992	Koppett, LeonardLeonard Koppett	New York City
1992	Saidt, BusBus Saidt	Philadelphia
1993	Smith, WendellWendell Smith	Pittsburgh
1994	(no award presented)	n/a
1995	Durso, JoeJoe Durso	New York City
1996	Feeney, CharleyCharley Feeney	New York City
1997	Lacy, SamSam Lacy	Washington, D.C.
1998	Stevens, BobBob Stevens	San Francisco
1999	Lebovitz, HalHal Lebovitz	Cleveland
2000	Newhan, RossRoss Newhan	Los Angeles
2001	Falls, JoeJoe Falls	Detroit
2002	McCoy, HalHal McCoy	Dayton, Ohio
2003	Chass, MurrayMurray Chass	New York City
2004	Gammons, PeterPeter Gammons	Boston
2005	Ringolsby, TracyTracy Ringolsby	Denver
2006	Hummel, RickRick Hummel	St. Louis
2007	(see explanatory note at top of section)	n/a
2008	Whiteside, LarryLarry Whiteside	Boston
2009	Peters, NickNick Peters	San Francisco
2010	Madden, BillBill Madden	New York City
2011	Conlin, BillBill Conlin	Philadelphia
2012	Elliott, BobBob Elliott	Montreal/Toronto

Similarly named award

This award should not be confused with the identically named J.G. Taylor Spink Award, which is awarded to the Minor League Player of the Year by the Topps Company, in conjunction with Minor League Baseball.

See also

• Honor Rolls of Baseball (writers)
• Baseball awards#U.S. major leagues: Awards by organizations other than MLB
• Dick McCann Memorial Award - sports writers (Pro Football Hall of Fame)

External links

• J. G. Taylor Spink Award on Baseball Hall of Fame
• J. G. Spink Award on Baseball Almanac