''The Sporting Magazine'' (1793–1870) was the first English sporting periodical to devote itself to every type of

sport Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can, ...

. Its subtitle was "Monthly Calendar of the Transactions of the Turf, the Chase and Every Other Diversion Interesting to the Man of Pleasure, Enterprize, and Spirit".

History

''The Sporting Magazine'' was established in 1793. The magazine was published in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, but was able to offer extensive coverage of events nationally because the editor,

John Wheble John Wheble (2 February 1746 – 22 September 1820) was an English printer, author and antiquary. Early life and apprenticeship He was born in Gatcombe, Isle of Wight in 1746. He was twice married, leaving a widow. Wheble was apprenticed in 17 ...

, had established a wide-ranging network of informants, writers and contributors throughout the

shire Shire is a traditional term for an administrative division of land in Great Britain and some other English-speaking countries such as Australia and New Zealand. It is generally synonymous with county. It was first used in Wessex from the beginn ...

s. Much of the information in the magazine stemmed from the readers themselves, who were urged to contribute material. The editor insisted that information should be accurate, rejecting contributions where he had doubts. Readers would also respond to one another's letters and sharp debates often occurred within the magazine's columns, acting as an additional check on the accuracy of material. The editor refused to settle disputes, but was very conscientious in supplying the best information available. Cumulatively, this provided an immense amount of detail. The journal transformed the subject by providing a treatment that was both deeper and more wide reaching in scope. Unlike its predecessors, it embraced everything that was regarded as sport and aimed at presenting an accurate, accessible record. By doing so, it mapped the subject out, presenting a thematic framework, which others were to develop. A range of issues that were to become associated with established sporting literature first became accessible to a wider audience via its columns. By the early 1820s, the magazine was the fourth best-selling monthly periodical in London. However, it was still badly organized, information on varying topics simply being heaped together. Occasionally the magazine would copy articles from newspapers, but the coverage it offered was excellent, embodied by the detailed calendar of forthcoming events that appeared every month. Improvements in communications generated rapid information dissemination and this inevitably favoured the daily and weekly press rather than the monthly, especially those that began devoting serious coverage to sport. Consequently, sales of the magazine shrank to just 1,500 by 1822, leading to the editor to introduce a new approach to the subject matter. From 1819 fox-hunting had been given increasing coverage, with the first comprehensive list of

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

packs appearing two years later. However, it was the editor's decision to employ the author Nimrod at lavish cost, from 1822 to 1827, to furnish beautifully written pieces on fox-hunting, that commenced the transformation of the magazine. Despite an increase in price, Nimrod's articles increased sales, which soon doubled, inevitably leading the magazine to pay still greater attention to fox-hunting. Nonetheless, contents remained quite varied, including, for instance,

dog fighting Dog fighting is a type of blood sport that turns game and fighting dogs against each other in a physical fight, generally to the death, for the purposes of gambling or entertainment to the spectators. In rural areas, fights are often staged i ...

. In addition, coverage became more contemporary and the layout improved. The magazine, followed by other papers, began to denounce cruelty to animals, such as,

pigeon Columbidae () is a bird family consisting of doves and pigeons. It is the only family in the order Columbiformes. These are stout-bodied birds with short necks and short slender bills that in some species feature fleshy ceres. They primarily ...

shooting,

cock-fighting A cockfight is a blood sport, held in a ring called a cockpit. The history of raising fowl for fighting goes back 6,000 years. The first documented use of the ''word'' gamecock, denoting use of the cock as to a "game", a sport, pastime or ente ...

and horse feats, and encouraged action against them.

Duel A duel is an arranged engagement in combat between two people, with matched weapons, in accordance with agreed-upon rules. During the 17th and 18th centuries (and earlier), duels were mostly single combats fought with swords (the rapier and l ...

ling between gentleman protagonists with pistols or swords was so common at the time, that the magazine had a regular monthly column called "Affairs of Honour" devoted to duels.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sporting Magazine 1793 establishments in Great Britain Monthly magazines published in the United Kingdom Sports magazines published in the United Kingdom Defunct magazines published in the United Kingdom Magazines published in London Magazines established in 1793 Magazines disestablished in 1870