Bowie Kuhn in history

[Edgy MD]

Doing some bouncing around, I just stumbled upon the unknown (to me) factoid that Bowie Kuhn was named The Sporting News Sportsman of the Year for 1983.

I'm sure Kuhn was a lovely guy who loved baseball, but I can think of few moments in his career where he was much more than a reed blown down buy the winds of time. I imagine a career as long as his had its highlights, but what happened in 1983 that made his legacy suddenly stand up above, I dunno, Cal Ripken, Dale Murphy, LaMarr Hoyt, John Riggins, Tony Dorsett, Phil Mahre, Eamonn Coghlan, Bird, Magic, Dr. J, Larry Holmes, or Wayne Gretzky? Was that the beginning of some awesome new contract that promised to end labor strife forever? Was that the year that he appeared to eradicate drugs from the sport?

Was he just really really cozy with the editors and/or publisher?