The disclaimer on the AJs I published (Feb 93 until the end) -- on Page 2, bottom right -- read as follows: The APBA Journal is independently owned and operated and not a part of the APBA Game Company [added "or MMI/MicroLeague" after they bought in], Opinions expressed herein are those of their authors and do not represent official game company policy. Under the terms of our publishing agreement with the game company, we are unable to print articles, editorials, letters or advertisements which reflect negatively on APBA or its products.
Howard Ahlskog, editor of the AJ in the early 1990’s stated that he got more money from the AJ editor job than from his job as a teacher at Greenfield Massachusetts high school. In other words he more than doubled his income when he took over the Journal. I was startled by this statement.
Reading it I assumed that APBA was paying him for editing the Journal. Your article dispels this idea but leaves me more curious than ever.
In one of the APBA boxes I've got in the basement, I've got a handwritten note from Howard Ahlskog talking about what the subscriber count was at some time in the late 1980s. I'll see if I can find it again. It was several thousand, as I recall.
I don't think that APBA was paying money directly to the AJ at any point in time. We do have a former AJ editor who comments on these posts from time to time, though — he might chime in.
I do know that Ahlskog is the reason the AJ survived. Things were really bad in the 1981-1983 era. When Howard came aboard he pushed to have more engaging pieces, and the difference is really obvious if you just read through issues chronologically. The period from about 1986 to 1992 or 1993 or so is the pinnacle of tabletop sports journalism, in my opinion.
The disclaimer on the AJs I published (Feb 93 until the end) -- on Page 2, bottom right -- read as follows: The APBA Journal is independently owned and operated and not a part of the APBA Game Company [added "or MMI/MicroLeague" after they bought in], Opinions expressed herein are those of their authors and do not represent official game company policy. Under the terms of our publishing agreement with the game company, we are unable to print articles, editorials, letters or advertisements which reflect negatively on APBA or its products.
Howard Ahlskog, editor of the AJ in the early 1990’s stated that he got more money from the AJ editor job than from his job as a teacher at Greenfield Massachusetts high school. In other words he more than doubled his income when he took over the Journal. I was startled by this statement.
Reading it I assumed that APBA was paying him for editing the Journal. Your article dispels this idea but leaves me more curious than ever.
That's actually really fascinating.
In one of the APBA boxes I've got in the basement, I've got a handwritten note from Howard Ahlskog talking about what the subscriber count was at some time in the late 1980s. I'll see if I can find it again. It was several thousand, as I recall.
I don't think that APBA was paying money directly to the AJ at any point in time. We do have a former AJ editor who comments on these posts from time to time, though — he might chime in.
I do know that Ahlskog is the reason the AJ survived. Things were really bad in the 1981-1983 era. When Howard came aboard he pushed to have more engaging pieces, and the difference is really obvious if you just read through issues chronologically. The period from about 1986 to 1992 or 1993 or so is the pinnacle of tabletop sports journalism, in my opinion.