For SCD Writer Jim Hawkins in Line for a Big Honor

As I write this, I am hours away from boarding a plane to Baltimore for the National Sports Collectors Convention, of which you’ll find a comprehensive wrap-up in the next issue of SCD (Sept. 7) from a quartet of SCD contributors, along with updates online through.

Leading up to the event, there has been a steady stream of news related to the National, along with big items on display at the show that will be offered at auction this fall and the federal indictments of some big names in the hobby.

However, there was another news tidbits I wanted to share here that I think would interest SCD readers.

The news quite an honor for former SCD columnist Jim Hawkins. (Eye of the Hawk was his column name). Hawkins has been named as one of three finalists for the 2013 J.G. Taylor Spink Award, which is the highest award given by the Baseball Writers Association of America to its members. Winners are recognized in a wing at the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y.

While Hawkins worked with the Wilmington News Journal and Baltimore Evening Sun, he is best known for covering the Detroit Tigers for the Detroit Free Press and other newspapers.

Hawkins, who was also involved in the sports memorabilia business, penned books on Al Kaline, Mark “The Bird” Fidrych and Augusta National, among other topics.
Hawkins now lives in St. Petersburg, Fla., and works part-time for MLB.com.