Hawkins on Baseball Hall of Fame ballot.

Byline: Ken Olson

July 20--Jim Hawkins grew up loving the sport of baseball as a youth in Superior. Whether it was playing a pick-up game near his home in Hammond Park, collecting baseball cards or going to watch the Superior Blues as a member of the "Knot Hole Gang" in the 1950s, Hawkins loved baseball. His love for the sport led him into a 40-year sports writing career, which included covering the Detroit Tigers from 1970 until his retirement in 2011. On July 10, Hawkins learned he was one of three finalists for the 2013 J.G. Taylor Spink Award, which is the highest award given by the Baseball Writers Association of America to its members. The award was instituted in 1962 and named after J.G. Taylor Spink, publisher of The Sporting News from 1914 to 1962 and the award's first recipient. Winners are recognized in a wing at the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y. "It's quite an honor and exciting," Hawkins said. "I knew I was under consideration, and Tuesday during the All-Star game friends started asking if I got the call from the committee yet. Then after 4 p.m., I got the call that I was on the ballot for 2013. "I don't know if I have a chance of getting in, but just being on the ballot is a huge award." The 2012 baseball writer entry was Bob Elliott of the Toronto Star. Among previous Spink Award winners are well-known writers such …