100 Years of Who's Who in Baseball

The start of the baseball season brings with it a host of annual traditions and reminders, and one of the most venerable-the annual Who's Who in Baseball-arrives on newsstands across the country every Spring Training. In 2013, newsstand sales of the book were about 200,000 units (according to the book's agent, RLR Associates). The year 2015 will mark 100 years of Who's Who delivering year-by-year stats to generations of baseball fans to quickly and easily track a player's performance from the minors to the majors. Who's Who is trusted as an authoritative source, and has been used for a century by club executives, broadcasters, journalists, and fans. In partnership with Who's Who in Baseball and its parent company Harris Publications, 100 Years of Who's Who in Baseball is an amazing gift book-like Lyons Press's 101 Baseball Places to See Before You Strike Out-featuring each of the annual's 100 iconic covers in full color along with a page of text telling why the player rated the cover and what was going on in baseball at the time. Throughout its history, speculation on the cover subject of Who's Who in Baseball has been a yearly hot stove tradition for devoted followers. The book's origins go back to its being a spin-off of the popular Baseball Magazine deep in baseball's dead ball era in 1912. The second issue appeared in 1916, with Ty Cobb on the cover, and the publication has come out each spring since. Harris Publications, Inc. (through its division, Who's Who in Baseball Magazine Co.,) has published the book since 1956, and plans-including the production of this gift book-are already being made to mark the 100th edition next year.