"Is there a Who's Who
in Baseball?" No, Virginia, there
isn't a 2017 Who's Who in Baseball.
Who's Who in Baseball was published
annually by Baseball Magazine co.
starting in 1916. Published in 1912, the
first issue featured Ty Cobb on the
cover. Baseball Magazine, launched
in 1908, was the leading
publication of its time
for information on the game of
baseball. By the 1950s magazines
such as
The
sporting News, Sport, and Sports
Illustrated started grabbing the
market share, and by 1965 baseball
Magazine printed it's last issue.
Who's Who in Baseball continued to
be published until 2016, it's 101st
issue, by Harris Publications, who
took over in 1952.
Spring Training marks the start of the baseball season along
with the tradition of hitting the
newsstands for the annual edition
of Who's Who in baseball. The long
time fans of the publication are
finding nothing but disappointment
trying to locate the 2017 edition. I have
received email from a number of
people asking; Where or why can't I
find the 2017 issue? Why after 100
years of continuous publication of
Who's Who in Baseball, would the
decision be made to discontinue
publication in 2017?? Why Why Why?
We live in different times. After
the invent of the internet, people
don't rely on paper publications
any more, or at least as much as we
used to. If you want to find out
any information, on who's who in
baseball, there are a dozen
websites that provide this
information and more. Paper
publications can't compete with
today's technology. Just as the
parlor and board games lost out to
video games, like the dinosaur,
paper publications will one day be
a thing of the past. The problem is
Digital copies are not collectible.
The 4-3/4" x 6-1/4" was thought
to be a portable publication that
could be carried around with ease.
Now we have pocket size smartphones
that can carry the World Book
Encyclopedia. Another relic of days
gone by.
Who's Who in Baseball has been a favorite publication for many
generations. The cover
traditionally features
players who won a major baseball
award from the previous season, and
an official
team photo of the
World Series champions. This alone
made them popular with collectors. Most readers of this publication
saved every issue, and as a rite of
passage handed them down to the next
generation of baseball fans.
The magazine is loaded with stats and "facts for fans" but most collectors
are drawn to the players that are
featured on the cover. The first
edition issued in 1912 had two
covers. Ty cobb is illustrated on
one, the other Frank Home Run
Baker. The 1916 edition which
started a 100 year consecutive run
also started the tradition of
featuring the most outstanding player from the
previous year. The back cover
simply reads "This book is issued
by the publishers of the Baseball
Magazine" followed by copyright
information.
Babe Ruth makes his debut in 1920 as a Red Sox player in 1919. With 17
Games on the mound Ruth had a
record of 9-5 and a .297 ERA, but
with the bat he hit 29 home runs.
More than the White Sox, Indians,
Tigers and Senators. The following
year in 1921 "The Babe" was again
featured on the cover but as a New
York Yankee. He was the first
player to appear on the cover, two
consecutive years.
Although there were issues that pictured the official team photo of the
World Series winners on the back
cover, it was not until 1970, that
it became a annual tradition. Frank
Howard was the last single player
on the back in 1969. The featured
player on the cover of the 1970
issue was the Amazing Mets pitcher
Tom Seaver who shared it with
Harmon Killebrew, Willie McCovey,
Denny McLain, and Mike Cuellar. The
back cover pictured the
World
Champions, New York Mets.
In 1994 the World Series was
canceled because of the player
strike. The back of the 1995 issue
pictured the "1994 American League
Best, New York Yankees." The inside
cover had a black and white team
photo of the "1994 National League
Best, Montreal Expos"
Harris Publications, which had
published the annual since 1952
closed shop after the 2016 edition
of Who's Who in Baseball. Harris
Publications sold off a number of
their publications to Athlon
Magazines, but Who’s Who was not
included in the sale.
It is not inconceivable that the magazine could make a comeback sometime
in the near future, or after skipping
just one
year. But this is little
consolation to Cub fans that were
looking forward to seeing their
beloved World Champions adorn the
back page. Not to mention the 2016
National league Rookie of the year,
and MVP Kris Bryant on the cover.
Cub fans have been waiting longer
than the 101 years that Who's Who
in Baseball had been in
publication. 1908 the year Baseball
Magazine was first launched.
If the publication is picked up,
the first issue should be a Cubs
World Championship special edition.
Then they could do business as
usual there after.
