Available Copies from Independent Booksellers
[Harry] "Steamboat" Johnson. Standing the Gaff. Printed for, Nashville, TN, 1935.
Price: US$75.00 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: Nashville, TN: Printed for "Steamboat" Johnson by Parthenon Press, 1935. First Edition. Octavo. 142 pp. + advertisements. Black and white photographs. Green pictorial cloth. Lacks dust jacket. Boards toned and worn along edges with brief exposure, shallow loss, and minor fraying to edges. Binding is sound. Toning to endpapers and interior else unmarked. Still a Very Good copy of the classic memoir from the long-time baseball umpire.
Seller: Capitol Hill Books, ABAA, Washington, DC, U.S.A.
Price: US$167.50 + shipping
Condition: Good
Description: Nashville, Tennessee: Printed for "Steamboat" Johnson by Parthenon Press,(1935). FIRST EDITION, FIRST PRINTING. 142 pages + ads. Good+ in Good Dust Jacket. Tight binding; clean pages; a few small bumps and some wear; dust jacket has a few small tears and light soil. Harry Samuel "Steamboat" Johnson (March 26, 1880 - February 20, 1951) was a professional baseball umpire. Johnson, born in Pennsylvania in 1880, was a long-time umpire in the minor leagues - including the Western League, Three-I League, and Southern Association - who also umpired 66 games in the National League in 1914. He issued 11 ejections during that season, including New York Giants manager John McGraw twice in two days at the end of July. Johnson's nickname came from a reporter for The Atlanta Georgian, who wrote, "None of us know where John D. Martin (president of the Southern Association) got this Umpire Johnson, but he has a voice like a Mississippi River steamboat. From now he is 'Steamboat' Johnson to Atlantans." In 1923, Johnson declared a spring training game a forfeit against the Detroit Tigers, after player-manager Ty Cobb had been ejected by Johnson's fellow umpire but refused to leave the field. In 1935, Johnson published his memoirs, Standing the Gaff, which is considered a baseball classic. He estimated that he had umpired over 4,000 games and made a million decisions. Johnson never used tobacco or alcohol, and in later life opened an umpiring school. He died in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1951 at age 70. [wikipedia] SEE OUR OTHER LISTINGS FOR MORE INTERESTING RARE AND COLLECTIBLE BOOKS. .
Seller: LaCelle Rare Books, Chadwick, MO, U.S.A.
Johnson Harry Steamboat. Standing the Gaff. Parthenon Press, 1935.
Price: US$250.00 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: Nice tight copy. Scarce, especially in dust jacket, and a wonderful read from a minor league umpire about the rough and tumble life in the game during the 30's. Great early umpire book written by Johnson who was an umpire in the Southern Association. Personalized and SIGNED BY STEAMBOAT JOHNSON
Seller: LSQ Books, Dallas, TX, U.S.A.
JOHNSON, "Steamboat". Standing the Gaff. Steamboat Johnson / Parthenon Press, Nashville, Tenn, 1935.
Price: US$375.00 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: First edition. Octavo. 141 + ads pp. Green pictorial cloth. A couple of bumps at the bottom of the boards, very good in very good dust jacket. Inscribed by the author on the first blank. "Best Wishes to R. A. Sobel from "Steamboat" Johnson, Umpire Southern League. This is my first autograph in the city of Chattanooga. April 14th, 1936" on the first blank page. Very uncommon autograph from the Major League umpire who once kicked John McGraw out of two games in two consecutive ganes. Johnson was also the same umpire who forfeited a game against the Detroit Tigers when Ty Cobb refused to leave a game after he was ejected. A classic of baseball literature. Very uncommin in jacket.
Seller: Between the Covers-Rare Books, Inc. ABAA, Gloucester City, NJ, U.S.A.