“DON’T DRINK DURING A GAME”: BABE RUTH ON BASEBALL

RUTH, Babe. How to Play Baseball. New York: Cosmopolitan Books, 1931. Octavo, original pictorial cloth, original dust jacket. $2900.

First edition of this illustrated instructional work by all-time great Babe Ruth, in the rare original dust jacket.

"No baseball player, despite what record books claim, has ever equaled Babe Ruth's awesome performance." He reminds us "of the days when real heroes trod the base paths, heroes who played hard, lived hard and gave us everything they had on and off the field" (New York Times). Illustrated with over 30 photographs of Ruth instructing young ballplayers. Includes advice on batting, fielding, pitching and training rules, ("Don't drink during a game or for two hours afterward"). Grobani 9-30. Smith 6992. Contemporary owner signature.

Interior fine, only minor toning to cloth; rare dust jacket exceptionally nice with toning to spine, only very minor edge-wear. A near-fine copy.