Sports Reference has grown into the internet's most trusted and widely-used resource for current and historical sports data, biographical information, and advanced statistics. The company's comprehensive portfolio of sites includes Baseball Reference, Pro Football Reference, Basketball Reference, Hockey Reference, FBref (Soccer), College Basketball Reference, College Football Reference, Stathead and Immaculate Grid.

Our suite of websites and tools guarantee comprehensive and reliable information across all major sports, allowing users to confidently find any statistic, player or historical detail they are looking for. As part of our future vision, we are working towards unifying our tools and products to make browsing, researching and enjoying our data even easier throughout the entire Sports Reference ecosystem.

The story of Sports Reference is one of passionate fans and academics solving their own problem: the lack of accessible, comprehensive sports data online. The founding sites were built by the people who wanted and needed it most.

Our journey began as three separate passion projects launched by three individuals who saw the web’s potential to organize sports history:

• February 2000: Founder Sean Forman launches Baseball Reference.
• December 2000: Doug Drinen launches Pro Football Reference.
• April 2004: Justin Kubatko launches Basketball Reference.

In October 2004, Sean formally established Sports Reference, Inc., and in December 2007, the three officially joined forces with Jay Virshbo, former President of Howe Sportsdata, to create Sports Reference LLC. This moment marked the creation of our unified vision: One resource that could answer any question sports fans may have. The information that used to be stored in record books and almanacs would now be available for free to anyone.

For over two decades, we have evolved from simple websites into the global authority for sports data:

• 2020: We launched Stathead, expanding our core data into a powerful, subscription-based research tool for professionals and dedicated fans.
• 2023: We acquired the viral game, Immaculate Grid, seamlessly integrating our vast data archives with engaging, daily trivia.

Today, Sports Reference is a trusted resource, powered by a remote-first team of over 40 employees, all united by the mission to make sports data usable, searchable, and accessible.

Meet Sean Forman, President:

Sean Forman is the creator of Baseball Reference and FBref, and the President of Sports Reference, LLC. With a Ph.D. in Applied Mathematics from the University of Iowa, Sean is the driver of the company's commitment to data integrity and accessible analysis.

His journey began in February 2000, when he launched Baseball Reference while still in graduate school. After six years of building the site in his free time, while also serving as a professor at Saint Joseph's University in Philadelphia, he transitioned to leading Sports Reference full-time in 2006.

Today, his initial passion project has evolved into a trusted sports ecosystem operating nine sites and employing over 40 people. Sean’s blend of academic rigor and sports devotion has earned him significant industry recognition, including:

• SABR Analytics Conference Lifetime Achievement Award (2020)
• SABR Henry Chadwick Award (2011)
• MIT SSAC Alpha Award for Best Analytics Innovation/Technology (2013)
• Vistage Member Excellence Award for Leadership (2024)

As a member of both the Baseball Writers’ Association of America and the North American Soccer Reporters, Sean remains at the forefront of the sports media and analytics world, driving the vision for a completely unified, searchable, and definitive sports data platform. Learn more about Sean.

Sports Reference has over 45 full-time employees. Learn more about our team.

Today, Sports Reference is visited by over 100 million sports fans, receiving an average of over a billion pageviews per year. Fans from around the world use Sports Reference sites to keep up with their favorite teams and players.

Sports Reference’s work is guided by our four core values:

• Respect for our users, the athletes we cover, and our team;
• Craftsmanship in building tools and products;
• Reliable tools and services that meet our users’ needs every day; and
• Data democratization. We publish many data sets for emerging and underserved sports. For instance, The New York Times covered our recognition of the Negro Leagues as major leagues in the summer of 2021.