In 1996, when Sports Afield published a treasury of the best stories that appeared within the covers of the magazine and called it “The Greatest Outdoor Writing of the 20th Century,” it may have seemed boastful, but there were not many dissenters.
Sports Afield was an institution, the barometer of the worlds of hunting and fishing, showcasing well-crafted stories about those activities. So it was with great sadness that sportsmen received the news last month that the magazine would not be around after this month. The June issue of the 115-year-old publication is available on the newsstand now. Buy it. It will be a collector’s edition because it is the last.
The outdoors means many things to many people. But I believe there are specialty magazines for all of those interests and never should the twain overlap. Outside magazine is a fine publication. But it is not for hunters or fishermen. National Geographic Adventure contains wonderful stories, but not necessarily for hook-and-bullet aficionados. Several years ago Sports Afield veered from its mission, and while it valiantly attempted to right itself, it never quite made itself whole again.
Sports Afield began as an eight-page “Journal for Gentlemen” in 1887, a pioneer in the magazine field. When Sports Afield made the inappropriate decision to become all things to all outdoorsmen in the 1990s and began printing rock climbing, kayaking and hiking stories, it unfortunately abandoned its core audience and foundered in a field of intense competition. Sports Afield did not actually commit suicide, but it was an enabler in its own demise.
During its last years, Sports Afield was retooled, sold, lost circulation, lost advertising (especially in the wake of Sept. 11) and tried to regroup, but was finally given up for dead (I suspect too soon) with a circulation of 469,000.
For true believers in the blood sports, there were always three icons–Field & Stream, Outdoor Life and Sports Afield. The pages were filled with adventurous tales (I loved the artwork of growling, drooling grizzlies prepared to pounce on steely-nerved hunters, or of leaping fish astonishing wide-eyed anglers) and critical info on the latest gear. These mags contained all you needed to know if you were a hunting or fishing disciple, or simply an armchair connoisseur who appreciated a well-written yarn.
There was dismay over that 1990s change of content, but more recently Sports Afield had returned to its roots.
Mike Reynolds, 41, a to-the-core sportsman from Westchester, was a longtime subscriber who exiled Sports Afield from his home.
“I didn’t like that running and cliff-rappelling,” Reynolds said. “For lack of a better word, it was yuppie outdoors. Enough of us bailed on them that they had to bring back the good stuff. I might have re-upped.”
That’s what Rob Faurot, 42, a Chicago outdoorsman, is looking for too, although he is more tolerant. He noticed the content change but never canceled his 15-year-old subscription.
“I thought the magazine was pretty bad,” Faurot said, “but I stuck with it anyway. We kind of live vicariously [in Chicago]. I’ve gotten lots of places I wanted to go from it and lots of outdoor tips. I’m going to miss it.”
Perhaps, given that there are now specialty magazines about fly fishing, muzzle loading, archery and just about every other subdivision of hunting and fishing, we are lucky the magazine lasted as long as it did.
What Sports Afield at its best did, and both Outdoor Life and Field & Stream still do, is offer top-notch writing about hunting and fishing in general, articles that appeal to all. Leafing through the pages of the Sports Afield best-of collection, I see stories by Sig Olson, Erle Stanley Gardner, Grits Gresham, Zane Grey, Red Smith, Lee Wulff, P.J. O’Rourke, Thomas McGuane, Ian Frazier, Russell Annabel, Rick Bass and Ted Kerasote. Yes, as Faurot observed, the writing was really good.
One unfortunate side effect of the timing of the end-of-the-road announcement: The June issue already had gone to press. There is no farewell in the final issue, no reminiscences by editors, no special sign-off. But the front cover says a lot. Hunting rifles are pictured next to another picture of big-game hunters seated on a deceased Cape buffalo. And headlines touting the content include: “Yowza Trout! When and Where to Land the Big Ones” and “Plan the Ultimate Safari.”
Fishing. And hunting.
I still think the owners gave up too soon.
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lfreedman@tribune.com
