Sports Afield

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Sports Afield was founded in 1887 by Claude King and is by most accounts the oldest outdoor publication in North America. The first issue, in January of 1888, was eight pages long and printed on newspaper stock, out of Denver, Colorado. 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. Eventually Sports Afield moved its operations to Chicago. The magazine grew quickly, with some issues running 96 pages. It soon became not only a voice of the West, but a spokesman for hunters, fishermen, campers, and shooters across the USA. By 1927, when King stepped down as editor and turned the reins over to Joe Godfrey, Sports Afield was in full stride. 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. Sports Afield struggled during the Depression years to stay afloat. Toward the end of the 1930 the circulation rose to 250,000. In October 1948, Time magazine reported that “Sports Afield has become the biggest of all outdoor monthlies. Last week it put to bed a November issue that would go to 800,000 customers, a record for its 61 years.” In 1953 the publishing giant Hearst Magazines tendered an offer and Sports Afield moved its offices to New York City. Meanwhile, the magazine continued to grow and circulation hit the 1,100,000 mark in 1961. By the late 1960s the cover price had gone from 35 to 50 cents a copy. However, times changed. By the late 1990s the magazine entered the most difficult period in its long history. Hearst executives, deciding that traditional outdoor sports were no longer politically correct, initiated a move to shift the magazine’s focus from hunting and fishing to hiking, mountain biking, camping, and other “non-consumptive” outdoor sports. However, the gambit failed, and in the summer of 2000, Hearst sold the magazine to publishing magnate Robert E. Petersen, who subsequently moved the magazine’s offices to the Los Angeles area. But this proved quite difficult, and in June 2002 Petersen published his last issue. The magazine ceased publishing for several months following the June 2002 issue. In the fall of 2002, Ludo Wurfbain and Dr. Jacqueline Neufeld, the owners of Safari Press, purchased Sports Afield. Hiring Diana Rupp as their editor-in-chief, the new owners re-launched the magazine in April 2003 focusing solely on big-game hunting adventure. It continues to be published and its web site can be seen at www.sportsafield.com.