BBWAA Career Excellence Award
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. If still living, winners also become 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.
Among the well-known Spink Award winners are Fred Lieb, Shirley Povich, Jerome Holtzman, Ring Lardner, Sam Lacy, and Peter Gammons. The 2007 award winner has been announced as the late Larry Whiteside of The Boston Globe, one of the pioneering African American writers.
Recipients of the J. G. Taylor Spink Award
Note that the years below, through 2006, reflect 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. This makes it appear as though 2007 was skipped, though it was not.
- 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, and J. Roy Stockton
- 1973 - Warren Brown, John Drebinger, and John F. Kieran
- 1974 - John Carmichael and James Isaminger
- 1975 - Tom Meany and Shirley Povich
- 1976 - Harold Kaese and Red Smith
- 1977 - Gordon Cobbledick and Edgar Munzel
- 1978 - Tim Murnane and Dick Young
- 1979 - Bob Broeg and Tommy Holmes
- 1980 - Joe Reichler and Milton Richman
- 1981 - Allen Lewis and Bob Addie
- 1982 - Si Burick
- 1983 - Ken Smith
- 1984 - Joe McGuff
- 1985 - Earl Lawson
- 1986 - Jack Lang
- 1987 - Jim Murray
- 1988 - Bob Hunter and Ray Kelly
- 1989 - Jerome Holtzman
- 1990 - Phil Collier
- 1991 - Ritter Collett
- 1992 - Leonard Koppett and Bus Saidt
- 1993 - Wendell Smith
- 1994 - No Award Presented
- 1995 - Joe 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