More than just a game: the ageless art of the sports writer

As a big summer of sport begins, Barney Ronay traces our reporting lineage back to giants such as Cardus and CLR James

Sport has been an indivisible part of the Guardian almost from day one. Six weeks after the paper was launched as a weekly in May 1821, its first sports report appeared: four paragraphs of horse racing, tucked away on page 3.

Races this week have been very numerously attended," the un-bylined reporter noted, putting this down to the comfortable circumstances of the labouring classes, which have enabled them spare time for attendance, and also to appear in better clothes".