Canadian Allan Simpson named one of SABR’s 2026 Henry Chadwick Award winners

May 8, 2026

By Kevin Glew

Cooperstowners in Canada

Allan Simpson (Kelowna, B.C.) has been named one of SABR’s 2026 Henry Chadwick Award winners.

The Society of American Baseball Research (SABR) made the announcement on Wednesday.

“Allan Simpson is the founder of Baseball America, which reintroduced minor league baseball coverage to thousands of fans in the early 1980s and initiated meaningful widespread reporting on college baseball,” said SABR in their release announcing the honour.

“He largely created the field of baseball draft analysis and prospect tracking and evaluation, forging a new, deeper connection between ardent fans and the future of the sport.”

Simpson will be honoured alongside longtime MLB Network personality Brian Kenny, past SABR board president Eugene Murdock and longtime researcher and University of Pittsburgh professor Rob Ruck.

To be considered for the honour, a nominee must have completed baseball research that has had considerable public impact demonstrated by its publication in a variety of formats, including books, magazine articles, websites or databases.

Simpson definitely fits that criteria.

When the coverage of minor league baseball, college baseball and the draft was reduced in The Sporting News, Simpson, an accountant at the time, came up with the idea for the magazine that would become Baseball America.

He began producing a bi-weekly publication out of his garage in White Rock, B.C. in 1981, but he established post office boxes in Blaine and Bellingham, Wash., so people would think Baseball America was an American production. The publication originated with 1,500 subscribers and 30 years later, it had approximately 250,000 readers.

After 25 years, Simpson left Baseball America to become vice-president and director of national scouting with Perfect Game USA.

“During his 25 years at Baseball America, the publication transformed a niche interest into an essential part of the baseball conversation, creating a legacy of information and insight that has forever enriched our understanding of the national pastime,”said Wednesday’s SABR release about Simpson.

For his efforts, Simpson was inducted into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in 2011.

You can find a complete list of Henry Chadwick Award winners here.