Won in the Ninth

New York: R. J. Bodmer Company, 1910 Illustrated by Felix Mahony. First edition, first printing of the first book in the Matty Books series. Publisher's green cloth, front board lettered in dark green with pictorial cover label, and spine lettered in gilt. Very good or better, with light wear to spine ends and corners, some of the usual dimming to spine gilt, some scratches and soiling to cloth, light dampstaining to bottom corners of 8 pitching grip plates at back of book and rear free endpaper, and light soiling to rear free endpaper. Overall, a sturdy copy of this scarce baseball title, much nicer than usually found. Won in the Ninth is the first in a series of "good, wholesome, manly, boys' [stories]" ghost-written by sportswriter John Wheeler between 1910 and 1917. According to The New Yorker, these novels "sought to convince young readers and parents alike that baseball was an edifying pursuit that fostered character and intellect." Mathewson is considered baseball's first superstar, winning over 20 games for 12 straight seasons and pitching three complete-game shutouts in the 1905 World Series. He was posthumously inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1936. As a writer, he is best known for his memoir, Pitching in a Pinch, which is filled with anecdotes about the early days of professional baseball. . First Edition. Hard Cover. Near Fine.