Spalding & Reach Guides

[Runscott]

Originally Posted by Hot Springs Bathers

Several years the late John Spalding did a wonderful checklist of Spalding Football Guides (some years there were three different editions). John also did a checklist of the Spalding instructional series which ran for decades and is huge!

I have never looked that closely at the instructional books listed inside the front cover, so had assumed they were all from 1900 on, and so was happy to recently obtain an 1885 copy of 'How to Field'. All the instructions are from a gloveless major leaguer perspective, position by position. Fascinating read.

[baseballart]

Mike

I've never collected any Baseball Guides. I have about 10 or 12 at most pre-WWII. I know there were Canadian editions as well for some early years, but they are also tough to find.

[Hot Springs Bathers]

Scott that 1885 instructional was one of the first according to John Spalding's research.

The company published their first baseball realted publication in 1876 and between then and 1941 they issued just over 1,500 sports related publications.

Some titles, especially the baseball instructionals had as many as 41 editions. While do not have much research together I think there may have been as many as 6 to 10 different Baseball Guides during the teens.

I have found the standard edition, Canadian like Max mentioned, Spanish, Baseball Record Book and city editions such as Philadelphia and Cleveland as well as a college edition.

When you add Reach Guides and the odd issues like the Bull Durham and Nap Lajoie Guides you really get a feel for how popular the game was right after the turn of the century.