New York Yankee media guides

[arcadekrazy]

Denny,

Having completed the run of NYY yearbooks, I can tell you that it is a rewarding experience. As stated above, 1950 is the first year the NYY yearbook was published. "Official" NYY yearbooks (those not published by Jay) made their appearance in 1955. Certain years contain multiple revisions (roster changes, etc.), so a "complete" collection will contain ~130 yearbooks (I focused on the primary editions and did not worry about the revisions, so I guess my collection is not "complete" in the truest sense of the word).

With respect to the yearbooks, patience is key - do not overpay for the 1950s books (especially the ones from the early 50s). A lot of folks think that because the yearbook is associated with the early 1950s NYY it is worth more than it really is. Plenty of nice copies pop up at auctions (and card shows) at very reasonable prices (indeed, a near run of 68 books dating from 1950-2010 just sold in the most recent H&S auction for $800). If buying on eBay, do not hesitate to ask the seller as many questions as possible (Some of the books I purchased via eBay ended up having pages cut out, pictures cut out, etc - Sellers are often not aware of these issues). When possible, I purchase either in person or via a trusted auction house.

[Hot Springs Bathers]

That is a wonderful run! Are you tempted to add some of the revised editions?

[YankeeFan]

A guy named Mike Squire published a nice spiral bound book "The Definitive New York Yankees Yearbook Guide". I bought it on eBay a few years ago. I just searched and it's still there and updated - see the link below.

It lists every edition, every year, including the Big League Books \ Jay Publishing editions. It explains the differences between each edition, in detail. I recommend it as a good reference, especially if you do decide to collect every edition.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/The-Definiti...item54080640f7

[arcadekrazy]

Originally Posted by Hot Springs Bathers

That is a wonderful run! Are you tempted to add some of the revised editions?

I vacillate about walking down that path....I don't think I have the wherewithal to try and track them all down. Maybe one day.

[Gary Dunaier]

There have also been private, presumably unauthorized, reprints of the early Yankee yearbooks on Ebay. Sometimes they can be pricey - $25 and up (I've never paid that much for the ones I have) - but they allow you to actually read the things without the fear that you might be inadvertently damaging your expensive original.