Celebrating 80 years of AW
As we step into 2025, AW is celebrating a huge milestone – 80 years since it all started. Back in 1945, Jimmy Green had an idea to launch a magazine dedicated to athletics and it has since grown into the iconic publication we know today.
It all began with Green, a former RAF man, who got the ball rolling from the bedroom of his bungalow in Kent. When he first launched the magazine in December 1945, it was called Athletics, a pocket-sized, 24-page publication.
The cover featured long jumper Jim Morrish and despite the fact that post-war rationing meant no new publications could be launched, Green found a way around the rule and told a small white lie. He called the first issue "Vol II No.1" in order to get the project off the ground.
As the now late former AW editor Mel Watman wrote, "As his war service in the RAF neared its end and 'Civvy Street' beckoned, the 36-year-old Jimmy Green wondered about the possibility of creating an athletics magazine. He sought advice and was told unequivocally that such a venture would never pay for itself and he should forget it."
But Green ignored the advice and went ahead anyway, determined to bring something new to the world of athletics.
The magazine’s mission statement was to “bring all enthusiasts in the athletics world details of recent results, the latest information regarding coming events, club notes and news, results and news from the Colonies and other countries overseas, and articles of interest to the athlete generally”.
By the end of 1949, AW had sold around 5000 issues and demand was growing. To meet that demand, Green made the leap from monthly to weekly, with Athletics Weekly making its debut on January 7, 1950, priced at sixpence for 16 pages.
As Watman remembers: “To mark the occasion Jimmy doubled the size of the staff by taking on a typist to help him out.”
Fast forward another 75 years and AW has evolved even more. In the autumn of 2020, it shifted back to a monthly format, while still delivering the same mix of event coverage, interviews, training advice, results and stats that readers have come to expect.
As we celebrate 80 years of AW in 2025, it's incredible to think how far the magazine has come from those humble beginnings in Jimmy Green's Kent bungalow.
To celebrate our 80-year anniversary this year, you can find our first ever issue of AW via the Athletics Weekly archive, and look through all of our copies over the years.
From the first ever issue in December 1945 through to the present day, current subscribers to our magazine are able to dip into this resource for free whereas non-subscribers can pay just £3.99 per month for full access.
» Subscribe to AW magazine here, check out our new podcast here or sign up to our digital archive of back issues from 1945 to the present day here
