It was 34 years ago when I first read a copy of SPORTS ’N SPOKES (S’NS). On the July/August 1991 cover was David Cornelsen and the title of his feature article, The Wonderful World of Hand Cycling.
I had broken my neck two months prior and had been confined to a hospital bed with no physical activity. Like David, I had been a competitive athlete prior to my spinal cord injury, but I had already lost 65 pounds of muscle mass, and the idea of returning to sports with that atrophied body of mine was laughable — or so I thought.
In David’s article, he wrote about the handcycle, where to find one and how to select the appropriate model for any aspiring athlete. Furthermore, when talking about the health benefits of riding handcycles, he mentioned he unexpectedly lost weight despite consuming nearly 12,000 calories a day when he cycled across the country the previous year. David’s overarching excitement about all things handcycling was palpable, and even though we never met, I truly felt like he was talking to me. I asked myself, “Could I accomplish that stuff as a quad?”
Considering I was still connected to tubes and wires, I was a long way from competition. But David’s article in S’NS provided a sense of encouragement. It instilled an expectation that even though life wasn’t going as I had planned, there was potential for me to enjoy many aspects of my future. As a matter of fact, just as David had done in the summer of 1990, I, too, cycled across the United States in 1998.
S’NS has been the only magazine to focus on wheelchair sports since its first issue in May 1975, so there are plenty of athletes who can speak to its impact. One such reader is Bob Molinatti, who is a two-time winner of the Los Angeles men’s wheelchair marathon, a former Paralympian and host of Detours, which covers adaptive sports on YouTube and sportsnspokes.com. When Bob learned S’NS was celebrating 50 years, he wrote to me.
“As I think back over the 50 years since Cliff Crase started SPORTS ’N SPOKES, and as the magazine constantly contributed to the forward movement of adaptive sports, I am reminded of one particular issue and cover shot that starkly influenced me,” Bob wrote. “In 1984, as a relatively new guy in the race world, I watched the exhibition track races that took place at the Los Angeles Coliseum. It was that iconic shot of Sharon Hedrick winning the 800 meters, hands raised over her head in victory, that not only pushed me forward, but gave me the belief that adaptive sports had somehow solidified its place in the sporting world. So many issues over the years spotlighted great generational athletes, however, this particular issue has never left my memory and remains, in my opinion, simply groundbreaking. Thanks so much to all the tireless staff at SPORTS ’N SPOKES for leading the way then, now and into the future!”
As the current editor-in-chief, I appreciate the feedback I get from readers and feel quite fortunate that I’m in a position to enjoy the successes of S’NS. According to Statista, there are 7,416 print magazines in the U.S., but very few have been around for 50 years and only one of them, S’NS, focuses on wheelchair sports.
Cliff created S’NS because he knew there was a demand for such a publication, but sustainability would require assembling a committed staff comprising people who shared his vision.
Cliff’s first employee was Sherri Shea. At age 24, Sherri was responsible for answering the phone, taking out the trash and delivering S’NS to the post office. However, over the next 46 years at S’NS, her responsibilities grew and on April 4, Sherri retired as the magazine’s operations manager.
For reasons too many to list here, I’m going to miss Sherri’s presence in the office. Fortunately, she promised to stay local and maintain her cell number.
Whether it’s David’s article about handcycles in 1991, the iconic image of Sharon winning a gold medal at the 1984 Paralympic Games or a video you saw on the S’NS Facebook page just yesterday, the impact, relevance and longevity of S’NS is the result of Cliff, Sherri and those who have shared the vision of publishing a quality magazine that our readers find informative.
As long as we continue to do so, S’NS will endure another 50 years.
As always, please share your thoughts with me at al@pvamag.com.