The Bookshelf Conversation #201: Phil Rosenzweig

Going old school here. For some reason, despite my best efforts, the video did not come out in not one, but two attempts. No biggie. Prior to the pandemic, I used to do these Conversations by phone, so let us return to yesteryear…

My baseball card collecting days only go back to the mid-1960s. But Phil Rosenzweig’s interest goes back to a time before there was even  Topps. He beautifully captures a set from more than 100 years ago in One Splendid Season: Baseball and America in 1912, Told with the Words and Images of the Hassan Triplefolder Set.

The book is handsomely crafted with photos and annotations that span the collection. It is presented in a more or less chronological order, rather than numerical by card and the author does a splendid job of creating an atmosphere of excitement as he notes the high points of that season.

Each card depicts two players “bookending” an action shot and one has to remember the relatively primitive technology of the era. I was so taken with the book that I headed over to Ebay in hopes of finding a relatively inexpensive representation. I was lucky enough to acquire the one shown below one of Hugh Jennings and Ty Cobb surrounding the iconic photo of Cobb sliding into third base taken by legendary baseball photographer Charles Conlon. I was surprised with the small size of the card but as Rosenzweig reminded me, these cards had to be folded down in order to fit into a package of cigarettes.

The annotations in the book serve to elaborate on the texts on the back of the cards.

Rosenzweig is professor emeritus of business administration at IMD in Lausanne, Switzerland. He is the author of numerous books (including another favorite topic of mine, Reginald Rose and the Journey of 12 Angry Men) and has been translated into fourteen languages. He now lives in the United Kingdom. For more information, visit the author’s website at PMRBooks.com.

Unfortunately, due to those technical difficulties, you won’t be able to see the visual examples he shared with me, but you’ll get the gist.

One Splendid Season would make an excellent holiday present for the baseball card collector/historian on your list.

And again, my apologies to Rosenzweig and followers of this blog. Fingers crossed that the next one will revert to form.