James Campbell Isaminger (December 6, 1880 – June 17, 1946) was an American

sportswriter Sports journalism is a form of writing that reports on matters pertaining to sporting topics and competitions. Sports journalism started in the early 1800s when it was targeted to the social elite and transitioned into an integral part of the n ...

for newspapers in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

from 1905 to 1940, covering every

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the World ...

during that time.

Biography

Isaminger was born in

Hamilton, Ohio Hamilton is a city in and the county seat of Butler County, Ohio, United States. Located north of Cincinnati, Hamilton is the second largest city in the Greater Cincinnati area and the 10th largest city in Ohio. The population was 63,399 at th ...

, and worked for the ''

Cincinnati Times-Star ''The Cincinnati Times-Star'' was an afternoon daily newspaper in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States, from 1880 to 1958. The Northern Kentucky edition was known as ''The Kentucky Times-Star'', and a Sunday edition was known as ''The Sunday Times-St ...

'' from 1895 to 1905. He moved to the ''

Philadelphia North American ''The North American'' was an American newspaper published in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1839, though it could claim a lineage back to 1771, and published until 1925, when it was purchased by the owner of the rival '' Public Led ...

'', and then to ''

The Philadelphia Inquirer ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'' is a daily newspaper headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The newspaper's circulation is the largest in both the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the Delaware Valley metropolitan region of Southeastern Pennsy ...

'' in 1925. Isaminger played a major role, along with

Hugh Fullerton Hugh Stuart Fullerton III (10 September 1873 – 27 December 1945) was an American sportswriter in the first half of the 20th century. He was one of the founders of the Baseball Writers' Association of America. He is best remembered for his role ...

and

Ring Lardner Ringgold Wilmer Lardner (March 6, 1885 – September 25, 1933) was an American sports columnist and short story writer best known for his satirical writings on sports, marriage, and the theatre. His contemporaries Ernest Hemingway, Virginia Wo ...

, in breaking the story of the

Black Sox scandal The Black Sox Scandal was a Major League Baseball game-fixing scandal in which eight members of the Chicago White Sox were accused of throwing the 1919 World Series against the Cincinnati Reds in exchange for money from a gambling syndicate led ...

in 1919. In 1934, he was elected president of the

Baseball Writers' Association of America The Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA) is a professional association for journalists writing about Major League Baseball for daily newspapers, magazines and qualifying websites. The organization was founded in 1908, and is known fo ...

(BBWAA). In September 1940, Isaminger suffered a

stroke A stroke is a medical condition in which poor blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and hemorrhagic, due to bleeding. Both cause parts of the brain to stop functionin ...

while attending a baseball game at Municipal Stadium in Cleveland. He retired after the stroke. Isaminger died in June 1946 at his home in

Fawn Grove, Pennsylvania Fawn Grove is a borough in York County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 476 at the 2020 census. It is served by the South Eastern School District which provides a public education. Geography Fawn Grove is located at (39.730004, ...

. In 1974, he was posthumously honored by the BBWAA with the

J. G. Taylor Spink Award The BBWAA Career Excellence Award, formerly the J. G. Taylor Spink Award, is the highest award given by the Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA). It is given "for meritorious contributions to baseball writing" and voted on annually by ...

for distinguished baseball writing. Recipients of the Spink Award are recognized at the

National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, operated by private interests. It serves as the central point of the history of baseball in the United States and displays baseball-r ...

in what is commonly referred to as the "writers wing" of the Hall of Fame.

Notes

References

External links

Baseball Hall of Fame Profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Isaminger, James 1880 births 1946 deaths People from Hamilton, Ohio Journalists from Ohio Baseball writers American male journalists American sportswriters The Philadelphia Inquirer people BBWAA Career Excellence Award recipients