Harry George Salsinger (April 10, 1885 – November 27, 1958) was an American sportswriter who served as sports editor of The Detroit News for 49 years.
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Salsinger was born in Springfield, Ohio.[2] In 1907, he started writing for The Cincinnati Post.[3]
In 1909, Salsinger began working at The Detroit News as sports editor, a position he held until his death in 1958.[4] He covered 50 World Series, two Olympic Games, and many other sports including football, golf, tennis, and boxing.[4] Salsinger was also a president of both the Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA),[2] and the Football Writers Association of America.[5] Salsinger retired in January 1958 and died 10 months later at Henry Ford Hospital following a long illness.[6][7]
Salsinger was married to Gladys E. Salsinger. They had a son, Harry G. Salsinger Jr., born in October 1919.[8]
In 1968, the BBWAA posthumously awarded Salsinger the J. G. Taylor Spink Award for his baseball writing.[9] He was inducted into the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame in 2002.[10][11]
- When 'Babe' Ruth Was Beaten by John McGraw, Baseball Magazine, November 1922 (reprinted in Literary Digest, December 2, 1922)
- The day Johnny Bassler stole home, 1923 (reprinted in Baseball Digest, October 1955)
- Cobb dominated baseball with his keen mind and a will to succeed, The Detroit News, November 2, 1924 (reprinted in "They Earned Their Stripes", pp. 33–37)
- Lustrous Lenglen (Suzanne Lenglen), The Dearborn Independent, February 5, 1927, p. 7
- Chilled Drama: Streaks on Ice (speed skating), The Dearborn Independent, February 1927, p. 7
- New Idols for the Gallery: The Slashing Game (ice hockey), The Dearborn Independent, February 26, 1927, p. 7
- Courage and Endurance -- Matters of Stomach Not of Heart, The Dearborn Independent, March 5, 1927, p. 12
- The Weiser Typhoon - Old Barney (Walter Johnson), The Dearborn Independent, April 9, 1927, p. 14
- The Gate God Ruth (Babe Ruth), The Dearborn Independent, April 23, 1927, p. 7
- He Made a Man's Game out of Tennis (Bill Tilden), The Dearborn Independent, May 29, 1927, p. 7
- The Weiser Typhoon - Old Barney (Walter Johnson), The Dearborn Independent, April 9, 1927, p. 14
- Playing for Community (on Hank Greenberg's decision to play on Rosh Hashanah), The Detroit News, September 11, 1934
- Rogell gets it going with defense (Billy Rogell), The Detroit News, September 11, 1935 (reprinted in "They Earned Their Stripes", pp. 114–115)
- Cochrane owned Detroit in 1935 (Mickey Cochrane), The Detroit News, August 7, 1938 (reprinted in "They Earned Their Stripes", pp. 116–117)
- Mullin was a brainiac on the mound (George Mullin), The Detroit News, January 10, 1944 (reprinted in "They Earned Their Stripes", pp. 174–175)
- Goslin brought attitude then a title (Goose Goslin), The Detroit News (reprinted in "They Earned Their Stripes", pp. 156–157)
- Trick Schedule Tunes Out Radio, Baseball Digest, July 1945
- Speed Doesn't Count at Night, Baseball Digest, May 1947
- It's Howt-a-man (Art Houtteman), Baseball Digest, February 1948
- Groth Good, But He Still Must Grow-eth (Johnny Groth), Baseball Digest, January 1949
- The All-Time Tigers, Baseball Digest, February 1949
- Mr. Consistency Enters the Hall (Charlie Gehringer, Baseball Digest, July 1949
- Speaking Up for Speaker (Tris Speaker, Baseball Digest, August 1949
- Synonymitis (1950 Epidemic), Baseball Digest, July 1950
- American League's All-Timers, Baseball Digest, August 1950
- Trout Was Always Loose (Dizzy Trout, Baseball Digest, November 1950
- Heilmann was a magician at bat (Harry Heilmann), The Detroit News, July 10, 1951 (reprinted in "They Earned Their Stripes", pp. 112–113)
- Minor Whiz, Major Wheeze (Ox Eckhardt, Baseball Digest, July 1951
- Eight-Inning Winner (Hooks Dauss, Baseball Digest, August 1951
- Greatest Pitcher? Waddell! (Rube Waddell, Baseball Digest, September 1951
- It's a National League Year, Baseball Digest, September 1951
- Bobo and His Short Story (Bobo Newsom), Baseball Digest, October 1952
- Perfect Average System Unlikely, Baseball Digest, February 1953
- Diamond Odds Against Grid Stars, Baseball Digest, April 1953
- The Passing of a Symbol (Connie Mack), Baseball Digest, April 1956
- Dugout Dictionary, Baseball Digest, January 1957
- What a Scout Looks for in a Boy, Baseball Digest, June 1957
Spoelstra, Watson (November 2, 1968). "Salsinger, Ex-Detroit Sports Expert, Wins Spink Award". Sporting News. p. 28. "Salsinger was special to sports". The Detroit News. December 14, 2001.
"Sports editor taught columnist valuable lesson: Get it in writing". The Detroit News. December 12, 2001.
