Sports Afield
A 2012 Sports Afield magazine cover.
|
|
| Editor in Chief | Diana Rupp |
|---|---|
| Frequency | Bimonthly |
| Year founded | 1887 |
| Company | Field Sports Publishing Inc |
| Country | United States |
| Based in | Huntington Beach, California |
| Language | English |
| Website | www |
| ISSN | 0038-8149 |
Sports Afield (SA) was founded in 1887 by Claude King, as a hunting and fishing magazine, and it is the oldest continuously published outdoor magazine in North America. The first issue, in January 1888, was eight pages long; it was printed on newspaper stock and published in Denver, Colorado. Together with Outdoor Life and Field & Stream, it is one of the Big Three in American outdoor magazines. Initially only a magazine, Sports Afield started applying its name on branded products after WW II. This program expanded in the 21st century, and the Sports Afield Brand is now available on dozens of products and services such as camping equipment, clothing, interior decorations, cutlery, security safes, log cabins and real-estate marketing.
The “Journal for Gentlemen” promised, in King’s words, “To be devoted to hunting, fishing, rifle and trap shooting, the breeding of thorough-bred dogs, cycling, and kindred sports…” The subscription price was $1.50 per year, with single copies selling for 15 cents. A few years later, King expounded on his philosophy: “Sports Afield has an ambition above that of simply entertaining and amusing the public; it wants to help propagate the true spirit of gentle sportsmanship, to encourage indulgence in outdoor recreations, and to assist in the dissemination of knowledge regarding natural history, photography, firearms, and kindred subjects.”
Before the decade was out, Sports Afield had expanded and moved its operations to Chicago. The magazine grew, with some issues running 96 pages. It soon became not only a voice of the American West, but as well a spokesman for campers, fishermen, hunters, and shooters across the United States of America. By 1927, when King stepped down as editor and turned the reins over to Joe Godfrey, Sports Afield was in full stride. Zane Grey started writing for the magazine, as did Jimmy Robinson, beginning a 60-year association with the publication. In 1930, Ivan B. Romig and his associates took over Sports Afield, combined it with a smaller publication—Trails of the Northwoods—and moved the offices to Minneapolis. A string of editors worked the helm of Sports Afield, which struggled during the Great Depression years to stay afloat. It did, and by 1934 the magazine was in the black.
...
Wikipedia