Milwaukee Journal Sentinel writer wins McCann Award

Bob McGinn, a veteran sportswriter for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, has been named the winner of the 2011 McCann Award. The prestigious award, named after the Hall of Fame’s first director, is given by the Pro Football Writers of America.

He will receive the McCann Award during the Enshrinees Dinner in Canton, Ohio on Friday, August 5. That event, held on the eve of the 2011 enshrinement, is also where the Class of 2011 enshrinees are presented with their Hall of Fame gold jackets.

"Bob’s credentials and his awards won speak for themselves. Bob always has reveled in the reality that football is an intricate game with dozens of different perspectives on every play. He goes beyond the facts to flesh out those perspectives and get to the core of what really happened on the field and why,” commented Mark Gaughan, president, Pro Football Writers of America. “His analysis always has been first-rate, he is tireless about talking to as many people as possible to gather information, and he has an excellent network of sources.”

"I'm honored and humbled and thrilled," McGinn stated after learning he been named the McCann Award winner. "It's the culmination of my career as an NFL beat writer."

McGinn has covered the Green Bay Packers for 32 straight seasons including 27 as a beat writer. He joined the Milwaukee Journal in August 1991 and the paper merged with the Milwaukee Sentinel in 1995.

A native of Escanaba, Mich., McGinn was a three-sport starter including as quarterback for Escanaba Holy Name High School. He graduated from the University of Michigan in 1974 where he majored in journalism and political science. During his college days, he covered Wolverines football for The Michigan Daily during the heyday of Coach Bo Schembechler.

McGinn’s journalism career started with The Delta Reporter, a weekly newspaper in Gladstone, Mich. After one year with that paper, he was hired by the Green Bay Press-Gazette where he covered high school and college sports. In 1979 he became a backup for the Packers beat and assumed the role full-time in 1984. He remained with the Press-Gazette until 1991.

He authored the book titled, “The Ultimate Super Bowl Book” published in 2009, and was the main writer for “The Road to Glory: The Inside Story of the Packers’ Super Bowl XXXI Championship Season,” and “The Pack is Back: How the Green Bay Packers Won Their 13th NFL Championship.”

“The Ultimate Super Bowl Book, in my opinion, was his masterwork, getting to the bottom of what made the difference in each of the Super Bowls,” commented Gaughan. “It is a joy to read, and it is an essential piece of pro football history."

McGinn, who has covered 26 Super Bowls, is a five-time winner of the Wisconsin sportswriter of the year award and has won numerous writing awards from the Associated Press Sports Editors (APSE), Pro Football Writers of America, Wisconsin Newspaper Association and Milwaukee Press Club. He was selected one of America’s top 20 sportswriters by Men’s Journal in 1998 and inducted into the Upper Peninsula (of Michigan) Sports Hall of Fame in 2008.

“I’m just an old beat writer who has always tried to take an X’s and O’s, analytical approach to the job,” shared McGinn. “For years, I have watched a lot of tape, including all Packers games and others around the league. Then I talk to many scouts and assistant coaches all year long. In a way, I’m an information gatherer trying to provide access to the decision-making process around the league for readers of Journal Sentinel.”

McGinn and his wife Pat have three children – Erin, Maggie, and Charlie – and one stepdaughter Katie.

McCann Award winners 1969-2011 >>>