“I STARTED ON THE SANDLOT, LIKE MOST KIDS DO”: VOICES FROM THE GREAT BLACK BASEBALL LEAGUES, FIRST EDITION SIGNED BY 21 PLAYERS, INCLUDING SEVEN HALL-OF FAMERS: BUCK LEONARD, RAY DANDRIDGE, LEON DAY, BUCK O’NEIL, LARRY DOBY, MONTE IRVIN AND MINNIE MINOSO

(BASEBALL) HOLWAY, John. Voices from the Great Black Baseball Leagues. New York: Dodd, Mead, (1975). Octavo, original orange cloth, original dust jacket. $6500.

First edition, signed by 21 players, including seven Hall-of Famers: Buck Leonard, Ray Dandridge, Leon Day, Buck O’Neil, Larry Doby, Monte Irvin and Minnie Minoso.

John Holway crossed the country to talk with baseball's invisible men, the stars of the Negro Leagues. They remember their lives in baseball and the history of the Negro Leagues from the 1920s to the 1960s. Among the players interviewed are Willie Wells, "the finest shortstop, black or white," Buck Leonard, "the black Lou Gehrig," and James "Joe" Greene who was Satchel Paige's catcher for eight years. This copy has been signed on the front free endpaper and the dedication page by:

Buck Leonard (HOF), Ted "Double Duty" Radcliffe, Lorenzo "Piper" Davis, Ray Dandridge (HOF), Leon Day (HOF), Don Newcombe, Buck O'Neil (HOF), Sam Streeter, Verdell "Lefty" Mathis, Red Moore, Artie Wilson, Gene Baker, Jim "Lefty" Lamarque, Connie John, Bob Boyd, Larry Doby (HOF), Andy Porter, Joe Black, Monte Irvin (HOF), Gene Benson, and Minnie Minoso (HOF).

Book and dust jacket in exceptional condition, with only one small mark to cloth on front board. A wonderful multi-signed copy.