Buck Leonard: The Black Lou Gehrig. by Leonard, Buck; Riley, James A - 1995

New York: Carroll & Graf Publishers, 1995 First edition, first printing. Signed by Leonard to front free endpaper. Publisher’s gray cloth-backed red boards, titles in gilt to spine; original blue dust jacket with photo of Leonard to front panel, titles in red, white, and blue, jacket designed by Roy Colmer. Touch of offsetting to endpapers, and a hint of rubbing to bottom edge of spine, else fine book; fine unclipped dust jacket. Overall, an excellent and fresh copy. In this book, Buck Leonard recounts his hard upbringing and his remarkable career in the Negro Leagues. Leonard played for the dynastic Homestead Grays from 1934 to 1950, a team that won nine straight pennants and 3 Negro World Series titles. Leonard, a thirteen-time All-Star, and his teammate, Josh Gibson, were nicknamed “The Black Lou Gehrig” and “The Black Babe Ruth” respectively due to their similarities to the Yankee duo. Leonard and Gibson were both inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1972, making them the second and third Negro League players elected (Satchel Paige, the first, was elected the previous year). . Signed. First Edition. Hard Cover. Fine/Dust Jacket Included.