Inductees

McGuff was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and attended Marquette University. He briefly served in the United States Army before being discharged due to asthma. After first working for the Tulsa World, he joined the staff of The Kansas City Star in 1948. He became sports editor in 1966 and was named editor of the Star in 1986. McGuff was also the author of Why Me? Why Not Joe McGuff?.

After the Kansas City Athletics departed for Oakland, California at the close of the 1967 season, McGuff played a major role in ensuring that Kansas City would gain a new franchise – the Kansas City Royals – in the 1969 expansion.

McGuff was the recipient of many awards and honors for his work and contributions. The National Association of Sportscasters and Sportswriters. named him Missouri’s outstanding sportswriter five times, and he was named to the writers’ wing of the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1984. Additionally, he served as president of the Associated Press Sports Editors and the Baseball Writers’ Association of America.

In 2006, McGuff was posthumously honored by the Associated Press Sports Editors, who awarded him the Red Smith Award, the AP’s top sports writing honor.