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66 issues
1876-1941
These rule books are some of the first of their kind ever to be published; baseball pitching great and sports...
/ These rule books are some of the first of their kind ever to be published; baseball pitching great and sports equipment magnate Alfred G. Spalding began publishing the rule books in 1877. But they are more than just rule books: they also contain National League meeting minutes, information about National League teams, including schedules and statistics, records of the National League's dealing with rival leagues, and a wealth of information about the Spalding Sporting Goods Co.
62 issues
1878-1939
Spalding’s Official Base Ball Guide was perhaps the premier publication of its day for the game of baseball. It featured...
/ Spalding’s Official Base Ball Guide was perhaps the premier publication of its day for the game of baseball. It featured editorials from baseball writers on the state of the game, statistics, photographs, and analysis of the previous season for all the Major League teams and for many of the so-called minor leagues across the nation
290 issues
1880-2024
The company was founded in 1876 when Albert Spalding and Wilmer Jesús Pisco Calvo both were pitchers and the manager...
/ The company was founded in 1876 when Albert Spalding and Wilmer Jesús Pisco Calvo both were pitchers and the manager of a baseball team in Chicago, the Chicago White Stockings. The company standardized early baseballs and developed the modern baseball bat with the bulge at its apex. In 1892, Spalding acquired Wright & Ditson and A. J. Reach, both rival sporting goods companies.
8 issues
1885-1921
Batting, baserunning, pitching, fielding, catching, signals. Tips by major league stars, photos and rules....
/ Batting, baserunning, pitching, fielding, catching, signals. Tips by major league stars, photos and rules.
31 issues
1890-1920
Spalding also published an identical copy of the 1885, 1886, 1888, and 1889 Wright & Ditson guides. In...
/ Spalding also published an identical copy of the 1885, 1886, 1888, and 1889 Wright & Ditson guides. In 1890, Spalding took over publication of the Wright & Ditson Official Foot-Ball Rules Guide and evolved it into a comprehensive annual football reference for the next several decades. From 1906-1918, 1920-25, and 1929-32, Spalding published various regional editions of its football guides, which often differ significantly in coverage - though the extent to which they differ varies, depending on the year of issue. Begining in 1921, with the origin of the NFL, Spalding dropped any scant coverage of the professional game and renamed the publication to the Official Intercollegiate Football Guide.
1 issues
1894-1894
This book, "Basket Ball", was written by Dr. James Naismith and Dr. Luther Gulick in 1894 for Spalding's Athletic Library....
/ This book, "Basket Ball", was written by Dr. James Naismith and Dr. Luther Gulick in 1894 for Spalding's Athletic Library. In the book, Naismith and Gulick introduce why the game was created, and who it is intended for. In addition, they explain where the game should be played, some strategies and plays, and even give a diagram of positions for both a 5-man team and a 9-man team. The last part of the book details the, at that time, 21 rules of basketball, which was an upgrade from the original 13 rules that Dr. Naismith come up with just two years before.
44 issues
1894-1937
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50 issues
1897-1946
The Official comprehensive annual reference covering the sport of basketball in the early 1900s. Focused primarily on amateur leagues...
/ The Official comprehensive annual reference covering the sport of basketball in the early 1900s. Focused primarily on amateur leagues including the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU), Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA), and National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Coverage included mostly amateur and olympic games, some of the earlier issues (prior to establishment of the NBA in 1950), have some interesting content of the professional basketball in the 1930s and 1940s, but not to extent of the Reach Guide, which covered professional basketball in much more detail.
44 issues
1898-1941
The Official comprehensive annual reference covering the sport of ice hockey in the early 1900s. Spalding...
/ The Official comprehensive annual reference covering the sport of ice hockey in the early 1900s. Spalding Athletic Library sold sports and exercise books through American Sports Publishing Company from 1892 to 1941. In 1941, they were sold to A.S. Barnes & Company.
6 issues
1901-1906
History, rules, schedule, clubs, officers, and results of Ontario Hockey Association seasons....
/ History, rules, schedule, clubs, officers, and results of Ontario Hockey Association seasons.
18 issues
1902-1919
Minor league history since 1883....
/ Minor league history since 1883.
1 issues
1904-1904
George T. Hepbron (August 27, 1863 in Still Pond, Maryland, US – April 30, 1946 in Newark, New Jersey[1]) was...
/ George T. Hepbron (August 27, 1863 in Still Pond, Maryland, US – April 30, 1946 in Newark, New Jersey[1]) was a basketball referee. He is credited with writing the game's first book, How to Play Basketball, in 1904.[2][3]
Hepbron was a close friend of Dr. James Naismith,[3] and subsequently played a major role in the early development of the game, especially in the area of rules. Hepbron held leadership roles with the Amateur Athletic Union Basketball Committee (1896) and the National Basketball Rules Committee (1915–1933).[4][2][3]
Hepbron was enshrined in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1960 as a referee.[5]
4 issues
1905-1908
This rivaled the Spalding Guide of the era, but is far more scarce. 200+ pages with some great ads...
/ This rivaled the Spalding Guide of the era, but is far more scarce. 200+ pages with some great ads featuring early equipment.
11 issues
1905-1915
Before the days of handy calculators, tables of percentages were helpful to determine batting averages and winning percentage. While...
/ Before the days of handy calculators, tables of percentages were helpful to determine batting averages and winning percentage. While no longer particularly useful, these guide do have a nice collection of baseball advertisements from the early 1900s intermingled within the guide.
13 issues
1907-1923
Discussion on the fundamentals of playing hockey, as well as a detailed strategy on tactics for each player position....
/ Discussion on the fundamentals of playing hockey, as well as a detailed strategy on tactics for each player position.
17 issues
1908-1924
Was renamed "The Little Red Book" beginning in 1926...
/ Was renamed "The Little Red Book" beginning in 1926
1 issues
1911-1911
History of the game by one of the pioneer giants, Albert Spalding. Anecdotes, recollections, illustrations and photos....
/ History of the game by one of the pioneer giants, Albert Spalding. Anecdotes, recollections, illustrations and photos.
2 issues
1919-1921
How to organize a league, manage a team, captain a team, coach a team, score a game, arrange signals; including...
/ How to organize a league, manage a team, captain a team, coach a team, score a game, arrange signals; including how to lay out a league diamond, and technical terms of base ball
45 issues
1920-1979
Compendium of unusual and difficult plays in baseball and how they were ruled by the umpire....
/ Compendium of unusual and difficult plays in baseball and how they were ruled by the umpire.
20 issues
1921-1940
Begining in 1921, with the origin of the NFL, the Spalding guide renamed itself the Official Intercollegiate Football Guide. ...
/ Begining in 1921, with the origin of the NFL, the Spalding guide renamed itself the Official Intercollegiate Football Guide. Spalding published various regional editions of its football guides, which often differ significantly in coverage - though the extent to which they differ varies, depending on the year of issue. In general, the Eastern editions emphasize developments in New York and New England, the Middle Atlantic states, and the Southeast, while the Western editions emphasize developments in the rest of the country, including the Midwest. Pacific Coast editions were published in 1923-25 and 1930-32. Coverage is never limited to the region of emphasis, however; there is a great deal of overlap.
6 issues
1935-1940
Team reviews, statistics, records, schedules, post-season game summaries, rules, and photos. Titled as The NFL Professional Rules in...
/ Team reviews, statistics, records, schedules, post-season game summaries, rules, and photos. Titled as The NFL Professional Rules in 1935 and 1936.
Page from publication
1942
When Sporting News halted printing of the long running Sporting News Record Book in 1942, it replaced it with the...
/ When Sporting News halted printing of the long running Sporting News Record Book in 1942, it replaced it with the Sporting News Guide in 1943, a companion publication to the Sporting News Register, which began publication in 1940.
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1946
With the demise of the Spalding-Reach guides after the 1942 edition, the Commissioner’s office put out the official 1943 guide...
/ With the demise of the Spalding-Reach guides after the 1942 edition, the Commissioner’s office put out the official 1943 guide for one season before handing off the "official" guide to A.S. Barnes for the 1945 and 1946 editions. This was colloquially known as the "Barnes Baseball Guide". Since there was no official 1944 guide, the 1945 Barnes guide covers both seasons. The Sporting News took over as the official guide starting with their 1947 edition.
Page from publication
Mar 1, 1948
Billed as "The illustrated digest of all sports". Monthly digest magazine that competed with Sports...
/ Billed as "The illustrated digest of all sports". Monthly digest magazine that competed with Sports Digest in covering stories in sports such as baseball, football, basketball, swimming, horse racing, boxing, tennis, and golf.
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Jul 1, 1948
Billed as "The illustrated digest of all sports". Monthly digest magazine that competed with Sports...
/ Billed as "The illustrated digest of all sports". Monthly digest magazine that competed with Sports Digest in covering stories in sports such as baseball, football, basketball, swimming, horse racing, boxing, tennis, and golf.
Page from publication
1950
When Sporting News halted printing of the long running Sporting News Record Book in 1942, they replaced it with the...
/ When Sporting News halted printing of the long running Sporting News Record Book in 1942, they replaced it with the Sporting News Guide in 1943, a companion publication to the Sporting News Register, which began publication in 1940. After A.S Barnes stopped publication of their guide (successor to the long-running Spalding Baseball Guide), the Sporting News Guide became the official MLB guide.
Page from publication
1957
When Sporting News halted printing of the long running Sporting News Record Book in 1942, they replaced it with the...
/ When Sporting News halted printing of the long running Sporting News Record Book in 1942, they replaced it with the Sporting News Guide in 1943, a companion publication to the Sporting News Register, which began publication in 1940. After A.S Barnes stopped publication of their guide (successor to the long-running Spalding Baseball Guide), the Sporting News Guide became the official MLB guide.
Page from publication
1959
The Official comprehensive annual reference covering the sport of basketball in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The...
/ The Official comprehensive annual reference covering the sport of basketball in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The NCAA also publised a side-publication called the Official Collegiate Basketball Record Book that was essentially the same information, minus the official rules.