Elias Sports Bureau

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The Elias Sports Bureau is a company that provides historical research and statistical services in the field of professional sports.

In 1913, Al Munro Elias and his brother Walter established the Al Munro Elias Bureau in New York City. Al Munro was such a huge baseball fan that he began keeping track of statistics in the National League. Through the years sportswriters began using his information. In 1922, National League president John Heydler hired Elias to aid him in record-keeping. Several years later, Elias Sports Bureau became the full-time baseball statistician for the National League, and later the American League followed suit.

Today, ESB is the official statistician of Major League Baseball, as well as 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 soccer (WUSA) to the list of leagues using its services.

ESB is also the primary source of statistics for ESPN, as well as national newspapers and magazines, websites, and dozens of broadcasters of MLB, NBA and NHL telecasts.

Steve Hirdt, executive vice-president of the Elias Sports Bureau, has branched out into writing. He started by writing for ESPN.com's Page2 website briefly before moving to ESPN The Magazine to write a column titled "Do the Math" which focuses on statistics.