James Isaminger
Born(1880-12-06)December 6, 1880[1]
Hamilton, Ohio
DiedJune 17, 1946(1946-06-17) (aged 65)
Fawn Grove, Pennsylvania
OccupationSportswriter
Years active1895–1940
Known forBaseball writing
SpouseElla
AwardsJ. G. Taylor Spink Award (1974)

James Campbell Isaminger (December 6, 1880 – June 17, 1946) was an American sportswriter for newspapers in Philadelphia from 1905 to 1940, covering every World Series during that time.[2]

Biography

Isaminger was born in Hamilton, Ohio,[1] and worked for the Cincinnati Times-Star from 1895 to 1905.[3] He moved to the Philadelphia North American, and then to The Philadelphia Inquirer in 1925.[4] Isaminger played a major role, along with Hugh Fullerton and Ring Lardner, in breaking the story of the Black Sox scandal in 1919.[4] In 1934, he was elected president of the Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA).[5]

In September 1940, Isaminger suffered a stroke while attending a baseball game at Municipal Stadium in Cleveland.[6] He retired after the stroke.[3]

Isaminger died in June 1946 at his home in Fawn Grove, Pennsylvania.[7][a] In 1974, he was posthumously honored by the BBWAA with the J. G. Taylor Spink Award for distinguished baseball writing.[4][8]

Notes

  1. ^ Initial news reports of Isaminger's death stated that he died "at his Maryland estate"[2]—Fawn Grove is on the border of Maryland.

References

  1. ^ a b "Draft Registration Card". Selective Service System. April 1942. Retrieved March 1, 2021 – via fold3.com.
  2. ^ a b "Jimmy Isaminger Dead". Daily American. Somerset, Pennsylvania. AP. June 18, 1946. p. 1. Retrieved March 1, 2021 – via newspapers.com.
  3. ^ a b "Death Takes Isaminger". Reading Eagle. June 18, 1946.
  4. ^ a b c "1974 J. G. Taylor Spink Award Winner James Isaminger". National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.
  5. ^ "ISAMINGER IS ELECTED: Named President of the Baseball Writers Association" (PDF). The New York Times. October 7, 1934.
  6. ^ "Writers Pay Tribute To Connie Mack, 78" (PDF). The New York Times. December 24, 1940.
  7. ^ "Isaminger (death notice)". York Daily Record. York, Pennsylvania. June 18, 1946. p. 25. Retrieved March 1, 2021 – via newspapers.com.
  8. ^ Jim Odenkirk (July 23, 2009). "Henry P. Edwards: Making a Case for His Induction into J.G. Taylor Spink's Writers Wing of the Hall". SABR. Archived from the original on September 29, 2011.

External links

Baseball Hall of Fame Class of 1975
BBWAA Career Excellence Award recipients
Categories