John Thorn
Encyclopedia
John Thorn is a noted sport
s historian
, and the Official Baseball Historian for Major League Baseball.
, West Germany. His Polish Jewish parents had come there as refugees. He immigrated to the United States in 1949. He graduated from Beloit College
in 1968.
, Total Football: The Official Encyclopedia of Major League Football, Treasures of the Baseball Hall of Fame, The Hidden Game of Baseball, The Glory Days: New York Baseball 1947-1957, and The Armchair Book of Baseball. He founded Total Sports Publishing
and served as its publisher from 1998–2002. Thorn served as the senior creative consultant for the Ken Burns
documentary
Baseball
.
In 2004 Thorn discovered documentation that traced the origins of baseball in America to 1791 in Pittsfield, Massachusetts
. In June 2006 SABR awarded Thorn its highest award, the Bob Davids Award. The award honors those whose contributions to SABR and baseball reflect the ingenuity, integrity, and self-sacrifice of the founder and past president of SABR, L. Robert "Bob" Davids.
On March 1, 2011, Thorn was named the Official Baseball Historian for Major League Baseball
. "Thorn succeeds the late Chicago Tribune and Chicago Sun-Times baseball writer Jerome Holtzman
, who served as Official Baseball Historian from 1999 until his passing in 2008." Thorn's most recent baseball book, Baseball in the Garden of Eden: The Secret History of the Early Game, was published with Simon and Schuster on March 15, 2011.
Thorn is also the co-author with Pete Palmer and Bob Carroll of The Hidden Game of Football
and with them co-editors of Total Football
. His book New York 400, a graphical history of the city timed for its quadricentennial, created with the Museum of the City of New York
and Running Press
, was published in September 2009. Thorn is a columnist for Voices, the publication of the New York Folklore Society.
Sport
A Sport is all forms of physical activity which, through casual or organised participation, aim to use, maintain or improve physical fitness and provide entertainment to participants. Sport may be competitive, where a winner or winners can be identified by objective means, and may require a degree...
s historian
Historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...
, and the Official Baseball Historian for Major League Baseball.
Early life
Thorn was born in StuttgartStuttgart
Stuttgart is the capital of the state of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. The sixth-largest city in Germany, Stuttgart has a population of 600,038 while the metropolitan area has a population of 5.3 million ....
, West Germany. His Polish Jewish parents had come there as refugees. He immigrated to the United States in 1949. He graduated from Beloit College
Beloit College
Beloit College is a liberal arts college in Beloit, Wisconsin, USA. It is a member of the Associated Colleges of the Midwest, and has an enrollment of roughly 1,300 undergraduate students. Beloit is the oldest continuously operated college in Wisconsin, and has the oldest building of any college...
in 1968.
Career
Thorn is the author and editor of numerous books, including Total Baseball: The Official Encyclopedia of Major League BaseballTotal Baseball
Total Baseball is a baseball encyclopedia first compiled by John Thorn and Pete Palmer in 1989. The latest edition, published in 2004, is its eighth...
, Total Football: The Official Encyclopedia of Major League Football, Treasures of the Baseball Hall of Fame, The Hidden Game of Baseball, The Glory Days: New York Baseball 1947-1957, and The Armchair Book of Baseball. He founded Total Sports Publishing
Total Sports Publishing
Total Sports Publishing refers to a book publishing company based in Kingston, New York, that operated from 1998 to 2002. Prominent author John Thorn served as the division's publisher throughout its existence.-Total Sports:...
and served as its publisher from 1998–2002. Thorn served as the senior creative consultant for the Ken Burns
Ken Burns
Kenneth Lauren "Ken" Burns is an American director and producer of documentary films, known for his style of using archival footage and photographs...
documentary
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
Baseball
Baseball (documentary)
Baseball is an 18½ hour, Emmy Award-winning documentary series by Ken Burns about the game of baseball. First broadcast on PBS, this was Burns' ninth documentary.- Format :...
.
In 2004 Thorn discovered documentation that traced the origins of baseball in America to 1791 in Pittsfield, Massachusetts
Pittsfield, Massachusetts
Pittsfield is the largest city and the county seat of Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the principal city of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses all of Berkshire County. Its area code is 413. Its ZIP code is 01201...
. In June 2006 SABR awarded Thorn its highest award, the Bob Davids Award. The award honors those whose contributions to SABR and baseball reflect the ingenuity, integrity, and self-sacrifice of the founder and past president of SABR, L. Robert "Bob" Davids.
On March 1, 2011, Thorn was named the Official Baseball Historian for Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
. "Thorn succeeds the late Chicago Tribune and Chicago Sun-Times baseball writer Jerome Holtzman
Jerome Holtzman
Jerome Holtzman was an American sportswriter known for his writings on baseball who served as the official historian for Major League Baseball from 1999 until his death.-Newspaper career:...
, who served as Official Baseball Historian from 1999 until his passing in 2008." Thorn's most recent baseball book, Baseball in the Garden of Eden: The Secret History of the Early Game, was published with Simon and Schuster on March 15, 2011.
Thorn is also the co-author with Pete Palmer and Bob Carroll of The Hidden Game of Football
The Hidden Game of Football
The Hidden Game of Football is an influential book on American football statistics published in 1988 and written by Bob Carroll, John Thorn, and Pete Palmer...
and with them co-editors of Total Football
Total Football
"Total Football" is the label given to an influential tactical theory of association football in which any outfield player can take over the role of any other player in a team. It was pioneered by Dutch football club Ajax from 1969 to 1973, and further used by the Netherlands National Football...
. His book New York 400, a graphical history of the city timed for its quadricentennial, created with the Museum of the City of New York
Museum of the City of New York
The Museum of the City of New York is an art gallery and history museum founded in 1923 to present the history of New York City, USA and its people...
and Running Press
Running Press
The Running Press is a member of the Perseus Books Group, the imprint is the publisher of fiction, non-fiction, cooking, humor, and kit books. The publisher's offices are located in Philadelphia, but many of the corporate functions take place in New York City....
, was published in September 2009. Thorn is a columnist for Voices, the publication of the New York Folklore Society.
External links
- Thornpricks Thorn's blogBlogA blog is a type of website or part of a website supposed to be updated with new content from time to time. Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in...
- International Movie Data Base (imdb.com)