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Tracy Ringolsby | |
|---|---|
 Ringolsby in 2010 | |
| Born | (1951-04-30)April 30, 1951 (age 74) Cheyenne, Wyoming, U.S. |
| Occupation | Sportswriter |
| Employer | Baseball America |
| Awards | J. G. Taylor Spink Award |
Tracy Ringolsby (born April 30, 1951) is an American sportswriter. He was a founder and original columnist forBaseball America from its beginning until a new ownership group took over changed the publication from its focus on minor leagues to a more generic approach. In retirement, he created a Rockies focused website, InsideTheSeams.com, and a University of Wyoming focused website, WelcomeTo7220.com, in reference to the school being located at the highest elevation (7,220 feet) of any Division 1 school. He worked for theRocky Mountain News inDenver, Colorado, until its closure during spring training 2009, and spent 2009–2013 as the pre-game/post-game analyst with Fox Sports Rocky Mountain/ROOTSPORTS for Rockies telecasts. He is the former president of theBaseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA) and was a member from 1976 to 2013. He rejoined the BBWAA in 2016 when employees ofMLB.com, where he worked for more than four years, were admitted to the BBWAA.
Ringolsby won an Emmy in 2010, 2011 and 2012 for his Beyond the Boxscore segment on the Rockies pre-game show. He was the 2000 recipient of the Shining Star Award for journalistic excellence, presented by theColorado Press Association, becoming the first sports writer nominated for the award. Ringolsby was the 2005 recipient of theJ. G. Taylor Spink Award which was presented at theBaseball Hall of Fame inCooperstown, New York, on July 30, 2006.[1] He was selected Colorado Sports Writer of the Year in 2005 and 2008, and was honored by the Wyoming Sports Hall of Fame for career achievement in 2009. He also received an honorary doctorate in letters from theUniversity of Wyoming in the spring of 2009.[2]
A native of Wyoming, Ringolsby is a graduate ofCheyenne East High School, and a member of the school's Hall of Fame. Tracy then attended Colorado State University in Fort Collins, Colorado for a year and a half before finishing up what time he spent in college at the University of Wyoming, from which both of his parents earned their degrees.
He began his writing career as one-man sports staff for theWyoming State Tribune, the afternoon newspaper in Cheyenne, the day after he turned 17.[3] He later worked forUnited Press International before beginning a career of covering Major League Baseball.
After two years in college, Ringolsby chose to follow up on the sports writing career he began in Cheyenne during his high school days, and went to work for United Press International. He worked for UPI from June 1971 until February 1977, spending time at the UPI bureaus in Cheyenne, Denver and Kansas City. Ringolsby was a beat writer covering heColorado Rockies for theRocky Mountain News from 1992, the year before the Rockies played their first game, until Feb. 27, 2009, the day the paper folded. Ringolsby previously worked for theLong Beach Independent Press-Telegram (California Angels, March 1977 – July 1980), theSeattle Post-Intelligencer (Seattle Mariners, July 1980 – July 1983), theKansas City Star-Times (Kansas City Royals, August 1983 – February 1986), and theDallas Morning News (Texas Rangers, March 1986 – 1991).[4]
Ringolsby is a co-founder ofBaseball America and a former member of the board of directors for the Professional Baseball Scouts Foundation during its existence. He was a member of theSociety for American Baseball Research from 1979 through 2009, and rejoined for 2014–15. He wrote a syndicated baseball column from 1986–2006, and was a columnist for FoxSports.com from April 2006 until July 2012.
Ringolsby was a member of the board of directors of the Cowboy Joe Club at the University of Wyoming for 12 years, and a former member of the Board of Directors of the National Western Stock Show.
Ringolsby and his wife, Jane, live outside ofCheyenne, Wyoming, with their four horses, Donotto, Sunny, Valkyra and Simon. His daughter, Laramie, and grandson, Scout, reside in Cheyenne. Ringolsby is a member of a pioneer family in Wyoming with roots to three of the four families that originally settled southeast Wyoming and southwest Nebraska—the Wilkinson, Golden and Tracy families.[5]