Hyman C. Turkin (May 9, 1915 – June 24, 1955) was a sportswriter best known for co-editing the first baseball encyclopedia.
Turkin was born in
New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
, one of seven children. He joined the staff of the ''
New York Daily News
The ''Daily News'' is an American newspaper based in Jersey City, New Jersey. It was founded in 1919 by Joseph Medill Patterson in New York City as the ''Illustrated Daily News''. It was the first U.S. daily printed in Tabloid (newspaper format ...
'' after graduating from
Cooper Union in 1936 with a degree in
electrical engineering
Electrical engineering is an engineering discipline concerned with the study, design, and application of equipment, devices, and systems that use electricity, electronics, and electromagnetism. It emerged as an identifiable occupation in the l ...
. Turkin covered baseball, basketball, and track for the paper.
Baseball Encyclopedia
A chance meeting with baseball researcher
S. C. Thompson in 1944 led the two to collaborate on what would become the first true baseball encyclopedia. Published by
A. S. Barnes & Company in 1951, the book contained a complete listing of every man who had played
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...
, along with the years they had played, the teams they had played for, and some basic statistics. It was a remarkable contribution to the field of baseball history.
The book earned the endorsement of Commissioner
A. B. "Happy" Chandler, and nine revised editions were published after Turkin's death (the last in 1979).
Personal life
Turkin was one of the founders of the National Foundation for Muscular Dystrophy, which later became the National Foundation for Neuromuscular Diseases. He was married to the former Florence Kerr, and the couple had a daughter named Margery.
Turkin died at the age of 40, following a six-month battle with
liver disease. ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' writer
Arthur Daley described him as "a bustling little dynamo with an inquisitive turn of mind."
Following Turkin's death, the Metropolitan Basketball Writers Association named an annual award after him; the Hy Turkin Memorial Award was given annually to professional basketball's rookie of the year. Winners included
Oscar Robertson in 1961, and
Lew Alcindor in 1970.
A
Little League Baseball field in
Dongan Hills, Staten Island, was named the Hy Turkin Memorial Field.
Sources
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References
Further reading
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External links
Photo of Babe Ruth's farewell appearance– Turkin is at right, wearing glasses and a bow tie. April 27, 1947.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Turkin, Hy
1915 births
1955 deaths
Cooper Union alumni
20th-century American writers
Baseball writers
Sportswriters from New York (state)
New York Daily News people
Deaths from liver disease