NOTED SPORTS ILLUSTRATED CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER GEORGE TIEDEMANN NAMED COLIN JOSE MEDIA AWARD RECIPIENT

APRIL 19, 2007 (Oneonta, NY)

George Tiedemann, who has had more soccer images in Sports Illustrated magazine than any other photographer in history, has been named the 2007 Colin Jose Media Award recipient. Tiedemann’s images of Americans Kyle Rote and Bob Rigby, along with Pele and Daniel Passarella of Argentina, graced many magazines, including SI, during the 70s and early 80s, when soccer was not as well received as it is today. Tiedemann will be honored at the National Soccer Hall of Fame Induction 2007 ceremony, presented by The Century Council’s Girl Talk: Choices and Consequences of Underage Drinking, on Sunday, August 26 at noon.

George Tiedemann
Colin Jose Media Award Recipient

Inaugural Colin Jose Media Award recipient Jerry Trecker noted of Tiedemann, “He has the greatest opus of soccer photography in the last 50 years.” Tiedemann photographed five men’s and three women’s World Cup Championships and was ever-present on the sidelines of the North American Soccer League. “His importance cannot be overstated,” Trecker continued. “Sports Illustrated was the cultural icon for sports reporting in the 70s, before the widespread availability of cable television and the Internet, and it was not a soccer-friendly environment. The strength of George’s images and his strong support for soccer in the editorial process at SI put soccer on the front cover and inside the magazine. When George arrived to photograph an event, it confirmed it was a big deal.”

“We welcome George to the prestigious roster of Colin Jose Media Award winners,” Hall of Fame President George Brown said. “His work over a long period of time includes many of the finest soccer images in the United States. His extensive photo exhibit documenting Pele’s career in the NASL, including a stunning image of Pele with his Hall of Fame ring, has been exhibited in the Hall of Fame.” The same exhibition, “A Celebration of Pele’s American Years,” sponsored by Nikon Inc. and Eastman Kodak, was on display during World Cup ’94 in New York City.

“I am honored by this award and am accepting in tribute to Bob Ehlinger, the man who got me started in the NASL,” Tiedemann said. “Bob became a good friend and a encouraging force in my professional career. He is the one who introduced Sports Illustrated to me. Covering the NASL was a great opportunity for me and it led to many wonderful experiences, including the covering of eight World Cups. I have been to numerous championships, such as the World Series, Super Bowl, the Olympics. NBA Championships, Stanley Cup, and the NCAA Final Four. However, covering a World Cup is the ultimate challenge that makes all the others pale in comparison.”

Tiedemann, was born in Iceland during WWII to a U.S. Army Air Corps Sergeant, and later moved to Libya where he learned to play soccer and take pictures. At the age of 17, he returned to the United States to finish high school. During a 4-year stint in the Marines, Tiedemann renewed his interest in photography while serving in Vietnam. On completion of his enlistment, Tiedemann began a nine-year career as a newspaper staff photographer. Tiedemann joined the Philadelphia Atoms as team photographer, which led to his hiring as the Director of Photography for the North American Soccer League. That NASL experience led to a more than 20-year career in photography at Sports Illustrated and almost three decades of visual U.S. soccer history.