WAIT TILL NEXT YEAR. THE LIFE STORY OF JACKIE ROBINSON by ROBINSON, Jackie and ROWAN, Carl T - (1960)

New York: Office of the Commissioner Major League Baseball, 1989. Softcover. Near Fine. First edition. Quarto. Plastic comb-bound photo-duplicated pages with a clear plastic front cover and cardstock rear cover. 225pp. Handwritten copyright notice on the title leaf. A small chip and tear on the plastic front cover, page edges a bit thumbed, a near fine copy. The damning report prepared by attorney John Dowd for the Commissioner of Major League Baseball, which resulted in Pete Rose's lifetime ban from the league. This copy Inscribed by the Commissioner of Major League Baseball to a young attorney in Dowd's office: "To —, Thank you for all your help - Bart Giamatti." Purchased by us directly from the attorney, who reports that when Giamatti received the final report at Dowd's office, he offered to sign autographs for the staff, most of whom proffered baseballs. Our friend offered the report instead. Apparently later generation copies occasionally appear in the sports world, Signed by either Dowd or… Read More

New York: A.S. Barnes, 1957. Hardcover. Very Good/Good. First edition. Gift inscription dated 1959, boards a bit soiled, a very good only copy in a price-clipped, good or better dustwrapper with small chips and tears. Engaging reminiscences of the game by the creator of Studs Lonigan. This copy is Inscribed at a later date to Joe DiMaggio: "To Joe DiMaggio with kind regards. James T. Farrell. Aug. 17, 1978 N.Y." DiMaggio, who is mentioned in the text, may have been forced to seek out a used copy to have it signed, and this copy has an old bookseller's price in it. Several of the books from DiMaggio's library had receipts from his hometown used bookstore, Moe's Books, in San Francisco. With a letter of provenance signed by DiMaggio's two granddaughters. *Shannon 100*.

NY: American Sports Publishing Co., 1894. Original March 1894 issue - not the reprint. Published NY: American Sports Publishing Co., 1894. (Vol.2, No. 19, March 1894). 12mo. wrappers, 4 1/4" x 6 1/2." 192 pp. Rear cover lacking, front cover has a 1 1/2" x 3/4 " triangular chip to the corner at the wraparound, 2 1/4" separation at the top fold, few small chips along the edge. Spine backing intact with slight loss at the heel and crown, one page has 2" closed tear, few pages have a corner crease, light spotting on edges. Internally very good - clean, unmarked, no foxing. Good plus.. 1st. Soft Cover. Good Plus. 12mo. Manuscripts Paper Collectibles.

New York: Senior Class Columbia College, 1924. Hardcover. Very Good. First and only edition. Rubbed with wear at the extremities and hinges a touch loose, very good. 1924 Columbia Yearbook featuring photos and accounts of Lou Gehrig's exploits on the baseball team during his second and final year at Columbia. Gehrig is pictured at least three times in the book and mentioned in print elsewhere: "He is now the property of the New York Yankees, and sage old scouts of the national pastime predict a bright future for him." Good call, sage old scouts.

New York, Chicago, San Francisco: Wilson-Western Sporting Goods Company, 1930. First edition. Two volumes. 8vo. The wrappers are illustrated with Rogers Hornsby in batting stance on the front cover. There are some marginal tears and general wear and soiling, especially to the Made -To-Measure catalogue; else in very good condition. Housed in a custom-made clamshell box of cloth with inlays of wood and leather. These two companion catalogues illustrate off-the-rack and tailor-made uniforms in a variety of price ranges. They contain original wool flannel samples, a drawing of the complete uniform, full description and price. The READY-TO-WEAR catalogue is sixteen pages (plus covers), fully illustrated and contains thirty-two uniform samples in a variety of colors and pinstripes. The MADE-TO-MEASURE catalogue is thirteen pages (plus covers), contains illustrations and sixty uniform samples in a variety of colors and pinstripes. Additionally, there are endorsements for mitts (with photo portraits) by… Read More

[Vernon, California?]: Pacific Coast League, 1911. Softcover. Very Good. Octavo. [8]pp. Stapled wrappers. One horizontal fold, the front wrap age-toned, some marginal tears on a couple of pages, very good. Program for a game between the Vernon Tigers of Vernon, California, and the Los Angeles Angels. The program features photos of several players, center score card/roster pages with pre-printed players' names, ballpark rules: "Bottle and cushion throwing prohibited," and some amusing baseball related advertising. Founded in 1903, the PCL was the highest level of western baseball until the Dodgers and Giants moved to California in the 1950s. Vernon was one of only two cities in Los Angeles County that was "wet," and with alcoholic beverages as an attraction, the Tigers attracted big crowds by the standards of the day. They weren't bad either, winning three pennants during their 17-year history. Very early memorabilia from the PCL is scarce.

New York: Office of the Commissioner Major League Baseball, 1989. Softcover. Near Fine. First edition. Quarto. Plastic comb-bound photo-duplicated pages with a clear plastic front cover and cardstock rear cover. 225pp. Handwritten copyright notice on the title leaf. A small chip and tear on the plastic front cover, page edges a bit thumbed, a near fine copy. The damning report prepared by attorney John Dowd for the Commissioner of Major League Baseball, which resulted in Pete Rose's lifetime ban from the league. This copy Inscribed by the Commissioner of Major League Baseball to a young attorney in Dowd's office: "To —, Thank you for all your help - Bart Giamatti." Purchased by us directly from the attorney, who reports that when Giamatti received the final report at Dowd's office, he offered to sign autographs for the staff, most of whom proffered baseballs. Our friend offered the report instead. Apparently later generation copies occasionally appear in the sports world, Signed by either Dowd or… Read More

New York: A.S. Barnes, 1957. Hardcover. Very Good/Good. First edition. Gift inscription dated 1959, boards a bit soiled, a very good only copy in a price-clipped, good or better dustwrapper with small chips and tears. Engaging reminiscences of the game by the creator of Studs Lonigan. This copy is Inscribed at a later date to Joe DiMaggio: "To Joe DiMaggio with kind regards. James T. Farrell. Aug. 17, 1978 N.Y." DiMaggio, who is mentioned in the text, may have been forced to seek out a used copy to have it signed, and this copy has an old bookseller's price in it. Several of the books from DiMaggio's library had receipts from his hometown used bookstore, Moe's Books, in San Francisco. With a letter of provenance signed by DiMaggio's two granddaughters. *Shannon 100*.

New York: Senior Class Columbia College, 1924. Hardcover. Very Good. First and only edition. Rubbed with wear at the extremities and hinges a touch loose, very good. 1924 Columbia Yearbook featuring photos and accounts of Lou Gehrig's exploits on the baseball team during his second and final year at Columbia. Gehrig is pictured at least three times in the book and mentioned in print elsewhere: "He is now the property of the New York Yankees, and sage old scouts of the national pastime predict a bright future for him." Good call, sage old scouts.

New York: The Morning Newspaper Baseball League, 1908. Hardcover. Near Fine. Cord-tied thick boards, die-cut into the shape of a baseball mitt. [114]pp. Elaborately illustrated souvenir volume. Some small scrapes on the front board, else near fine. Enumerates the various teams that played in the tournament. Rare. Not in *OCLC*, and we've never seen another copy.