This article provides a historical perspective on the development of scholarly writing in academic advising beginning in 1972 with some of the first journal articles solely devoted to advising and continuing through the initial 20 years of the "NACADA Journal"--the premier advising publication venue during the period. An important part of the evolution of advising's scholarly writing was the vision and perspective of each "NACADA Journal" editor. Each brought a distinct set of academic experiences to the job, each defined scholarship, and especially research, differently. Early (1972-2001) scholarly articles and the editors who published them shaped academic advising's literature base. This article analyzes the contributions made by these early articles and editors.