The FSWA announced earlier this week the first-ever set of finalists for its new hall of fame. On Friday, the organization published some of the reasons that those 14 men were selected.

You can go to FSWA.org to read the full entry for each nominee, but here are most of the facts. FSB.com has also told the stories of many of these candidates in profiles. Other members of this class will no doubt follow.

The induction class is expected to be announced Sept. 9.

Greg Ambrosius
– Became editor of Fantasy Baseball Magazine in 1989
– ESPN.com’s first fantasy sports writer in 1996
– Founding member of what became the FSTA (president from 2002 to 2006)
– Creator of NFFC and NFBC, which are now owned by Fanball

Matthew Berry
– Started out as a RotoWorld columnist in 1999
– Created TalentedMrRoto.com in 2004, a site that not only propelled his rise but launched the careers of some other prominent fantasy analysts
– Joined ESPN in 2007 when it acquired TMR and now serves as basically the national face for fantasy sports

William Del Pilar
– Co-founded KFFL.com in 1997 and helped drive innovations in fantasy player news and content delivery
– Sold KFFL to Fantasy Sports Ventures in 2006

Scott Engel
– Started with Sportsline.com back in the 1990s, moving to CBS Sports when the two merged in 2000
– 2004 took him over to another little startup named ESPN
– 2008 brought the association with the launch of RotoExperts, for which he now serves as managing director

Dan and Kelly Grogan
– Together, they established the first football-dedicated fantasy mangazine, Fantasy Football Eval, in 1986, which later became Grogan’s Fantasy Football Analyst
– Played a large role in introducing fantasy sports magazines to retailers, who now carry myriad fantasy titles annually
– Sold Grogan Sports to Athlon in 2006, combining a trusted fantasy brand with a well-known brand for general sports info

Bob Harris
– Created the TFL Report in 1993, a newsletter that included fax updates
– A tireless writer and editor who has helped discover and promote various writers throughout the industry
– One of the driving forces behind (and out in front of) Football Diehards

Emil Kadlec
– Rolled out Fantasy Football Pro Forecast magazine in 1990
– Created Fantasy Sports Publications (FSP.net) in 1996
– Co-founded the World Championship of Fantasy Football in 2003
– Launched Football Dihards in 2004
– Co-founder and current vice president of the FSWA

Eric Karabell
– A name synonymous with ESPN fantasy coverage, Karabell has written since 1997

Greg Kellogg
– Kellogg’s Komments (which began in the mid-1990s) was at the forefront of incorporating statistical analysis into fantasy writing
– Helped build FoxSports.com’s fantasy section
– Can now be heard multiple times weekly on The Fantasy Sports Channel at BlogTalkRadio.com

James Quintong
– Formerly wrote for SportsIllustrated.com
– Joined ESPN.com’s staff during its most recent expansion
– Helped create avenues for other fantasy writers to get published on the well-known sites for which he worked
– Charter member of the FSWA board of directors

Brendan Roberts
– One of the creators of The Sporting News’ Fantasy Source
– Moved to ESPN in 2007, where he serves as an editor for Insider content

Peter Schoenke
– Co-founder of RotoNews in 1997, which introduced the now near-universal template for player updates
– Co-founder of Roto Sports Inc. (parent company of RotoWire.com, among other outlets) in 2001

Ron Shandler
– Created Baseball Forecaster in 1986, which was at the forefront of baseball’s advanced-stats revolution
– Created BaseballHQ.com in 1996 (which is now owned by Fantasy Sports Ventures)
– Co-founded Tout Wars, one of the industry’s most prominent “experts” competition platforms

Those around the fantasy industry (or who play fantasy) are plenty familiar with the consistent quality of Rotoworld.com. Now, fans of Time.com’s lists will know, too.

The well-known fantasy outlet has been named one of Time’s 50 Best Websites of 2010, a collection from top fives from 10 different categories. The entry reads:

Fantasy sports teams require constant attention and care. As for real general managers, the key to putting together a winning formula on the field, court or course is having a healthy active roster. Rotoworld is your rotisserie nurse, delivering up-to-the-minute information on roster moves, injury reads and rising stars. Powered by NBCSports.com, the player news bar includes time-stamped blurbs for MLB, NFL, NBA, NHL, NASCAR, golf and college football happenings. Each entry includes a brief excerpt and source link catering to the everyday needs of fantasy fans, from casual to committed.

Rotoworld is the only list’s only fantasy-specific website, joined in the Sports category by Sports-Reference, Yardbarker, Total Pro Sports and Citizen Sports.

The recognition comes two years after fellow NBC Sports property ProFootballTalk.com landed on the same list, though that preceded the NBC acquisition.

We’ve been keeping you up to date since March 2009 on the FSWA’s planned hall of fame, and Tuesday brought the clearest public sign that the process is working.

The Fantasy Sports Writers Association has announced 14 finalists for its inaugural class, which will be rolled out Sept. 9 to coincide with the start of the NFL season. The names (listed alphabetically): Greg Ambrosius, Matthew Berry, William Del Pilar, Scott Engel, Dan Grogan, Kelly Grogan, Bob Harris, Emil Kadlec, Eric Karabell, Greg Kellogg, James Quintong, Brendan Roberts, Peter Schoenke and Ron Shandler.

With its focus on writers and content in general, the FSWA required that any candidate have at least 10 years experience on the editorial side of fantasy. More than just writers, though, this effort is might to acknowledge those who have made significant, lasting impressions on fantasy content.

We’ll have more on the process for whittling this group down to the inductees as well as some background on each candidate in the days to come.

For now, though, FSB.com congratulates everyone who made it this far. The fantasy industry is still new, but to be recognized as one of its most impactful contributors to date is an accomplishment in itself.

A roundup of items recently posted on the FSB News page.

– Sprint users can download the free Sprint Football Live app for their smart phones, which includes fantasy team management capabilities.

– HollyStock is the latest new game to apply a fantasy-type model to the world of celebrity gossip. Although the concept might first come across as stock market style, making or losing money based on the whims of other players, the system actually purports to track 200 celebrity news sites daily to tabulate each subject’s actual fantasy-celebrity value.

– It’s a good time to be (or own) Chris Johnson, whether your sport is football or baseball.

– If you think it’s tough to choose between running backs at the top of your fantasy football draft, imagine a league that combines all four “major” American sports and throws into the mix LeBron James, Albert Pujols and whoever the heck plays hockey these days.

– Current and former members of the U.S. Armed Services are eligible to play free fantasy football against their brethren via MWRfantasysports.com, a partnership with RapidDraft.

Send all of your news, job postings, stories and profile ideas to FantasySportsBusiness@gmail.com. Follow us on Twitter (FSBcom).