coxfan
03-10-2014, 08:14 AM
Dealers have a lot of old baseball books and magazines. They show how little changes accumulate over time to major changes. And they have the advantage that authenticity is rarely a problem. I just bought a copy of 1952 baseball "Dope Book" (strange title) for the modest price of $27. In it I find the following:
1) The newly-recodified baseball official rules. Before 1949, the official rules were just listed by number (e.g. "Rule 58") rather than broken down into sections (e.g. "7.04") as today.
2) 1952 was the last year before MLB finally started spreading out: first by moving clubs, then in 1961 by expansion. In this book we see the Braves still in Boston. Ironically, their top 2 farm clubs were in Milwaukee and Atlanta! The A's were still in Philadelphia, with Connie Mack listed as their President. Los Angeles, Kansas City, Baltimore, Dallas, Ft. Worth, and Houston were listed as minor-league clubs. The Browns and Cardinals shared the same stadium. Most MLB stadia had capacities of around 30,000, though Yankee Stadium was much larger than all the rest.
3) Minor leagues were classified down to Class D. Surprisingly MLB clubs varied a lot in their farm systems. A couple of them had no AAA affiliates. MLB clubs had from 7 to 16 minor-league affiliates.
4) There were the same 16 MLB clubs, representing only 10 metro-areas, that had existed since 1903. NYC had 3 clubs, and Philadelphia, St. Louis, Boston, and of course Chicago had 2 each. There were no MLB clubs in the entire South and West.
5) The Washington Senators are called the "Nats" in this 1952 book.
1) The newly-recodified baseball official rules. Before 1949, the official rules were just listed by number (e.g. "Rule 58") rather than broken down into sections (e.g. "7.04") as today.
2) 1952 was the last year before MLB finally started spreading out: first by moving clubs, then in 1961 by expansion. In this book we see the Braves still in Boston. Ironically, their top 2 farm clubs were in Milwaukee and Atlanta! The A's were still in Philadelphia, with Connie Mack listed as their President. Los Angeles, Kansas City, Baltimore, Dallas, Ft. Worth, and Houston were listed as minor-league clubs. The Browns and Cardinals shared the same stadium. Most MLB stadia had capacities of around 30,000, though Yankee Stadium was much larger than all the rest.
3) Minor leagues were classified down to Class D. Surprisingly MLB clubs varied a lot in their farm systems. A couple of them had no AAA affiliates. MLB clubs had from 7 to 16 minor-league affiliates.
4) There were the same 16 MLB clubs, representing only 10 metro-areas, that had existed since 1903. NYC had 3 clubs, and Philadelphia, St. Louis, Boston, and of course Chicago had 2 each. There were no MLB clubs in the entire South and West.
5) The Washington Senators are called the "Nats" in this 1952 book.