Saturday sports paper
Encyclopedia
The Saturday sports paper is a generic name for a series of local newspaper
s published in the UK on a Saturday evening containing information about sport
s matches played on that day. Throughout most of the twentieth century they were very popular, representing one of the few up to date sources of information available to sports fans. More recently, however, circulations have fallen and many publications have been forced to close down.
Saturday sports papers were published locally, with a different paper produced in each area covering local teams in depth. They were often connected to the local newspaper. In Cardiff
, for example, the Western Mail and Echo published the South Wales Sport Echo (previously the Football Echo.) In all areas Saturday sports papers were commonly nicknamed according to the colour of the paper they were printed on, which usually was not white. The "sports pink" or "green 'un" were common names.
Most Saturday sports papers focus on football
, providing match reports of games involving local teams and a full listing of final scores. Many also cover other traditional sports such as rugby
or cricket
and some have expanded into covering newer sports such as ice hockey
. Saturday sports papers are published as soon after full time as possible. Cardiff's South Wales Sports Echo was available to buy within twenty minutes of the end of the game, featuring half-time reports and full time scores, with a fuller edition later in the evening. Many sports fans have fond memories of going out to buy a Saturday sports paper as soon as it was printed to find out how their team had done.
Before the advent of TV and radio, Saturday sports papers were the only way most fans had of finding out sporting results and consequently they were very popular, some with circulations of more than 50,000. Since the start of the 21st century, however, Saturday sports papers have declined. Birmingham
's Sports Argus
, which used to be the biggest selling Saturday sports paper in the country, was one of many to be forced to close, publishing its last issue on 13 May 2006. Those that remain have seen declining sales or have switched to providing website
s.
A number of factors have adversely affected the popularity of Saturday sports papers. Televised sport
means that matches (particularly football) frequently do not take place on Saturday afternoons so they cannot be adequately covered by a Saturday evening publication. Another issue is the rise of alternative sources of information. The internet
, mobile phone
s and teletext
services also allow sports fans to follow their team's progress without the need for Saturday sports papers.
Newspaper
A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
s published in the UK on a Saturday evening containing information about sport
Sport
A Sport is all forms of physical activity which, through casual or organised participation, aim to use, maintain or improve physical fitness and provide entertainment to participants. Sport may be competitive, where a winner or winners can be identified by objective means, and may require a degree...
s matches played on that day. Throughout most of the twentieth century they were very popular, representing one of the few up to date sources of information available to sports fans. More recently, however, circulations have fallen and many publications have been forced to close down.
Saturday sports papers were published locally, with a different paper produced in each area covering local teams in depth. They were often connected to the local newspaper. In Cardiff
Cardiff
Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...
, for example, the Western Mail and Echo published the South Wales Sport Echo (previously the Football Echo.) In all areas Saturday sports papers were commonly nicknamed according to the colour of the paper they were printed on, which usually was not white. The "sports pink" or "green 'un" were common names.
Most Saturday sports papers focus on football
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
, providing match reports of games involving local teams and a full listing of final scores. Many also cover other traditional sports such as rugby
Rugby football
Rugby football is a style of football named after Rugby School in the United Kingdom. It is seen most prominently in two current sports, rugby league and rugby union.-History:...
or cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
and some have expanded into covering newer sports such as ice hockey
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
. Saturday sports papers are published as soon after full time as possible. Cardiff's South Wales Sports Echo was available to buy within twenty minutes of the end of the game, featuring half-time reports and full time scores, with a fuller edition later in the evening. Many sports fans have fond memories of going out to buy a Saturday sports paper as soon as it was printed to find out how their team had done.
Before the advent of TV and radio, Saturday sports papers were the only way most fans had of finding out sporting results and consequently they were very popular, some with circulations of more than 50,000. Since the start of the 21st century, however, Saturday sports papers have declined. Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
's Sports Argus
Sports Argus
The Sports Argus was a Saturday sports paper printed on distinctive pink paper and published in Birmingham, England between 1897 and 2006....
, which used to be the biggest selling Saturday sports paper in the country, was one of many to be forced to close, publishing its last issue on 13 May 2006. Those that remain have seen declining sales or have switched to providing website
Website
A website, also written as Web site, web site, or simply site, is a collection of related web pages containing images, videos or other digital assets. A website is hosted on at least one web server, accessible via a network such as the Internet or a private local area network through an Internet...
s.
A number of factors have adversely affected the popularity of Saturday sports papers. Televised sport
Broadcasting of sports events
The broadcasting of sports events is the coverage of sports as a television program, on radio and other broadcasting media. It usually involves one or more sports commentators describing the events as they happen.-United States:...
means that matches (particularly football) frequently do not take place on Saturday afternoons so they cannot be adequately covered by a Saturday evening publication. Another issue is the rise of alternative sources of information. The internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
, mobile phone
Mobile phone
A mobile phone is a device which can make and receive telephone calls over a radio link whilst moving around a wide geographic area. It does so by connecting to a cellular network provided by a mobile network operator...
s and teletext
Teletext
Teletext is a television information retrieval service developed in the United Kingdom in the early 1970s. It offers a range of text-based information, typically including national, international and sporting news, weather and TV schedules...
services also allow sports fans to follow their team's progress without the need for Saturday sports papers.