07/29/2026
This past month, doctoral student Tim Deposki completed a vital archival project at Lindenwood, bringing new accessibility to a cornerstone of our Sporting News Collection: the Spink Family Papers.
Spanning 19 banker boxes of material, this collection is a goldmine of executive-level correspondence. As the long-time owners of the Sporting News, the Spink family sat at the center of baseball. Their papers capture direct interactions with commissioners, team owners, legendary players, and politicians. While baseball history is heavily documented through statistics and press coverage, the candid, behind-the-scenes administrative history found in these papers is incredibly rare.
During his internship, Tim developed an enhanced finding aid to give researchers better descriptive control over the content in the 19 boxes. He also audited the collection's fragile media, identifying and cataloging 56 historical Dictabelt audio recordings into a comprehensive tracking spreadsheet, a crucial first step toward their future preservation.
The work done during this internship ensures this unique window into the business and politics of America's pastime remains open for future research.
To learn more about The Sporting News and browse the digitized collection visit: https://digitalcommons.lindenwood.edu/sporting-news/
