Elias Sports Bureau

The Elias Sports Bureau (ESB) is a company providing historical and current statistical information for sports, especially for major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada.

In 1913, Al Munro Elias and his brother Walter established the Al Munro Elias Bureau in New York City. At first they sold printed scorecards with baseball data directly to fans, until The Telegram daily newspaper purchased their weekly compilation of "averages" in 1916. Elias was appointed official statistician of the National League and International League in 1919 with the American League and other minor leagues to follow.

In 1937, the Elias brothers assumed publication of Charley White's Record Book, the so-called Little Red Book, after the death of its originator. It became an official (authorized) source for major league records. In 1938, the Bureau began producing the Pocket Cyclopedia of Major League Baseball, and for many years published the official Green Book, the National League's annual summary.

After the Elias brothers died in the 1940s, the company was managed by Lester Goodman. Seymour Siwoff, who had worked for the Elias brothers as a high school student before serving his country in World War II and earning the Purple Heart, returned to become the company's accountant. In 1952, after Lester Goodman's sudden death, Seymour Siwoff purchased the company from the widows of the Elias brothers. The new company was renamed Elias Sports Bureau to better fulfill Siwoff's vision of incorporating all professional sports, and Siwoff took the company into the computer age.

Under Siwoff's leadership for over 60 years and to the present, ESB has become the leading authority on sports statistics. Originally official statistician of Major League Baseball, Siwoff was able to add to this distinction the National Football League, the National Basketball Association, the National Hockey League, Major League Soccer, and the Arena Football League. More recently, ESB added pro-women's basketball (WNBA) and pro-golf to its list of league clientele.

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