# Is "My Baseball Diary" by James T. Farrell a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of My Baseball Diary by James T. Farrell (A.S. Barnes, 1957) is identified by: Barnes, New York, 1957, with 1957 on the verso of the title page. US first edition (A.S.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First printing, A.S. Barnes, New York, 1957, with 1957 on the verso of the title page
- Baseball memoir, approximately 276 pages
- First of two baseball books Farrell contracted to write for A.S. Barnes
- Publisher imprint reads A.S. Barnes
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | James T. Farrell |
| Publisher | A.S. Barnes |
| Year | 1957 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First printing, A.S. Barnes, New York, 1957, with 1957 on the verso of the title page |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
First printing, A.S. Barnes, New York, 1957, with 1957 on the verso of the title page. Baseball memoir, approximately 276 pages. First of two baseball books Farrell contracted to write for A.S. Barnes.

## Is this the true first?
US first edition (A.S. Barnes, New York, 1957). A simultaneous Canadian issue was published the same day; the US issue is catalogued as the true first.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Later printings and the modern Southern Illinois University Press reissue (Writing Baseball series) are identified as such; the 1957 A.S. Barnes hardcover is the true first.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *My Baseball Diary* by James T. Farrell a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/my-baseball-diary
CC BY 4.0. Part of the Canonical First-Edition Points of Issue dataset (https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/api/first-edition-titles.json). Last reviewed 2026-07-04.