"The Glory of Their Times" by Lawrence Ritter

[Tom Hufford]

This thread brought back great memories, and made me go pull out my own copy of "The Glory of Their Times," which I hadn't looked at in several years.

The book was published in 1966, and I got my copy in 1969. I responded to an ad - probably in The Sporting News - where you could order a copy of the newly published "The Baseball Encyclopedia" (Macmillan) and they gave you a free copy of "Glory." TBE was a massive volume, with a hefty price for that time - $25 - and Macmillan must have used the freebie to entice buyers.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading it, and when I went to Cooperstown for the first time, for the 1971 induction ceremonies and the founding meeting of SABR, I took it along with me. I hung around the hotel where the players were staying, and got it autographed, but looking at it now makes me wonder about some I got, and some I missed. Of the 22 players featured in the book, four were at Cooperstown (Marquard, Coveleski, Roush, and Hooper). I got Roush and Hooper to sign their respective chapters, but not Marquard or Coveleski - strange, because I got them to sign some other items for me, and I spent several hours with Marquard.

In addition, I remember thinking that some of the other Hall of Famers there were "too young" to sign the book - Musial, Feller, etc. - having played after the guys in the book. I did get some of the "older Hall of Famers" to sign, though, like Sam Rice, Pie Traynor, Zach Wheat, Red Ruffing, Lefty Grove, etc. The interesting part, though, was in some of the former teammates and friends who showed up for the induction of Hooper, Marquard, and Hafey - so I was able to add the signatures of Wickey McAvoy, Ernie Shore, Larry Gardner, Whitey Witt, Al Schacht, and Lloyd Waner (who wasn't in the book, but his brother Paul was).

Another thing I'd forgotten about, was the cancelled check I had stuck in the book - I'd sent author Larry Ritter a check for $3.95, which he endorsed and cashed. I didn't remember what that was for, until I found an advertising card in the back of the book - it gave Mr. Ritter's address, and said if you wrote and sent $3.95, you could get the "Glory of Their Times" LP, with the interviews of eight of the players. Pretty good deal, that even included the postage! Strange, though, I didn't order the LP until November 1972, three years after I got the book!

Of the 22 subjects in the book, two - Jimmie Austin and Paul Waner - died in 1965, a year before it was published. I don't know exactly when in 1966 the book came out, but two others died that year - Sam Jones in July and Rube Bressler in November. So at least 18 of the featured players could have signed the book, maybe even Jones and Bressler, too. I wonder if anyone actually tried mailing the book to all of the players, and if anyone has one that was signed by all 18 (or 19 or 20)?

Now, I think I'll read it again!