The National Sports Daily

This doesn't answer all of that, but has the staff and bureaus at the time:

 

That's great, but this must have been in the very beginning. Lupica was still there, and there are no bureaus for Miami, Detroit, Boston, Washington-Balt, SF, Seattle, etc.

 

That list of National Writers is pretty ridiculous in its awesomeness. That must have been a killer ride while it lasted.

 

That is truly a who's who.

 

I have the list that was on here a few years ago. I'll post it when I get around to it later tonight.

Mod is right. They had a "local" columnist, on the inside of the back cover, IIRC. In Boston, it was Charlie Pierce, I think. May also have shared it with Steve Buckley, but I want to say Buckley worked in Seattle.

If it started five years later, The National could have survived. Today, I could see it being a daily print version of SI, with a killer Monday morning issue, and a Web site like ESPN.com. The advertising would have been there, since advertisers could have gotten a major 1-2 punch that would have been nearly unbeatable.

I was in middle school when it started, and whenever I could afford it, I would pick up a copy on the way to school. It was wonderful reading for this not-yet-jaded sports fan, right around the time I really started getting into my teams.

And I wish I had been at the bash at Scores. Damn.

 

He might have been in the beginning, but after Lupica left, Pierce pretty much took that spot, doing the weekly note column, etc. He used to write "riddle me this" a lot.

 

Then that jives with my memory. Buckley moved into the slot after they started publishing the Boston edition, but I couldn't remember if he split duties with Pierce or not.

 

Pierce did move to the national sports columnist spot after Lupica left, but I don't believe he was Boston columnist. Some of the specific columnist and city matchups I do remember were:

Gordon Edes - Miami
Terry Egan - DC
Steve Pate - Dallas
Ray Ratto - SF
Al Morganti - Philly
Bud Shaw - Detroit
Tom Friend - LA
John McGrath - Chicago
Jay Mariotti - NYC

As a college freshman I got a letter to the editor published a few months before the National folded. It was the first sports media moment of my life, and one I'm still proud of.

 

Most recent version of "the list."

The knowns
Frank Deford - SI, NPR, REAL Sports etc...
Van McKenzie - RIP
Vince Doria - ESPN
Susan Kamb - Director, ESPN.com (according to Asian-American Journalists web site)
Rick Jaffe – fox sports
Rick Sayers – ee, erie times-news
Tim Tucker - ajc
Rob Fleder - si
Dave Kindred - sporting news
Lee Gordon – chicago tribune
Reid Laymance – ase, boston globe
Dave Tepps – palm beach
Pete Wevursi – oakland tribune
David Granger - esquire
Steve Clow – la times
Bobby E. Clay Jr. - si
Chris D'Amico – newark star-ledger
Mark Godich - si
Michael Knisley – ESPN.com Page 2 (was: Sporting News? Broadcasting?)
Kathleen McElroy – ny times
Al Vierra - binghamton
Dave Whitehorn – ase, newsday
Norman Chad - ESPN/Syndicated humor columnist
Scott Ostler – sf chronicle
Charles Pierce - boston globe magazine
Steve Buckley - boston herald
Gordon Edes - boston globe
Terry Egan - middletown
Tom Friend - espn the magazine
Jay Mariotti - chicago sun-times columnist
John McGrath – tacoma news-tribune
Al Morganti - WIP/ESPN
Steve Pate – Oakland (Mich.) Press
Ray Ratto - san fran chron columnist
Bud Shaw – good enough for cleveland
Gary Caruso – chop talk
Sam Donnellon - Philly Daily News
Larry Dorman - calloway
John Feinstein - bookin'
Ted Green – LA, tv producer
Ed Hinton - orlando sentinel (trib co.)
Johnette Howard - Newsday
Jeffrey Marx - author
Chris Mortensen - espn
Lester Munson - Sports Illustrated
Peter Pasquarelli – espn the mag
D. Tom Patterson - Record of San Joaquin County (Stockton, Calif.)
Peter Richmond - gq
Lyle Spencer – mlb.com, padres
Ian Thomsen - Sports Illustrated
Ed Werder - espn
Charles Chandler – charlotte observer
Jeff Horrigan - boston herald
Tom Keegan – ex-ny post, ex-espn 1050 nyc
Keith Dunnavant – NYC-based freelancer/author
Mike Towle - books
Jim Carley – Houston freelancer
Dennis Dodd - cbs sportsline
John Czarnecki - Fox Sports
Lisa Dillman – la times
Ken Gurnick - MLB.com
Steve Lowery – oc weekly
Eric Sondheimer – la times
Dave D'Alessandro - Newark Star-Ledger
Ian O'Conner - westchester
Lenn Robbins - new york post
Mark Fainaru - SF Chronicle
Sheldon Spencer – ESPN.com editor
David Steele - Baltimore Sun
Athan Atsales – ase, la times
Cindy Boren – washington post
David Cooper – ESPN.com
Tim Guidera - savannah columnist
Mike Huguenin - Orlando Sentinel
Alex Kimball – ase, la times
Jim Luttrell – ny times
Robin Melen – me, westchester journal news
Paul Mitchell – journalism instructor, nevada-reno
John Moore - Denver Post theater critic
Mike Moretti – newark star-ledger
Humberto Perez – chicago sun-times
Mark Wollemann - strib
Steve Marcus – deputy se, Baltimore sun
R.L. Rebach – bergen record
Craig Winston – ESPN The Magazine

The unknowns
Don Demaio -
Joe Walpole -
Paul Palazzo -
Ken Carpenter -
Karl Gude -
Carmin Romanelli -
Kim Cunningham -
Elizabeth Comte -
Richard Shook -
Tony Moton -
Rod Goldblum
Reid Grosky -
Mark Hohmeister -
Frank Kelly -
Richard McSweeney -
Larry Mirladi -
Jim Pavia -
Howard Courtney -
Scott Robson -
Reid Walmark -
Jeffrey Griber -
Barry Hauptman -
Mike Helfner -
Chris Lentine -
Sam Paulthasnoanon -
Aaron Radin -
Jason Rescigno -
Laurence Tobin -
Nancy Eato -
Reid Brown -
Amy Catalano -
Heather Eatman -
Jonathan Massie -
Frank O'Connell -
Michelle Papertsian -
Terrea Shaffer -
Amy Stahl -
Michael Viggiano -
Nick Dolin -
Liz Greco - si
Sean Plottner -
Solomon Chester Jr. -
Danielle Cumbo -
Art Monaghan -
Jake Weinstock –

The questionables
Mike Smith – AP news writer, Indy?
J.E. Vader – out of the biz? Sonoma-based author-freelancer?
Mark Vancil – Rare Air book publishing?
Gary Ferman - Media director, PGA Tour? CaneSport?
Hilary Kraus – spokesman-review?
Tim McManus – journal-register in pa?
Robert Dominguez – ny daily news?

 

Great to see that list. If I ever worked closely with one of those alums, I'd beg them every day to go to lunch with me so I could hear their old National stories.

 

heather is a graphic artist at the NY Daily News

also a talented singer-songwriter & has a couple CDs out

 

The one thing about the National is that many of those who the list are finally getting a taste of success. The National could've worked but greed and not too much thought in logistics brought it down. If the publication came out say five years earlier, it could've had a bigger impact on the journalism community.
Now, we've got ESPN.com and SI.com to fill the job that the National was doing in print.