# Is "The Boys of Summer" by Roger Kahn a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Boys of Summer by Roger Kahn (Harper & Row, 1972) is identified by: The first printing has 'First Edition' stated on the copyright page together with the full number line printed at the foot of the last page ending in 1 (the Harper & Row convention of this era placed the number line on the final page, not the copyright page). The US Harper & Row first is the true first; a cornerstone of literary baseball writing.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Harper & Row, 1972
- The first printing has 'First Edition' stated on the copyright page together with the full number line printed at the foot of the last page ending in 1 (the Harper & Row convention of this era placed the number line on the final page, not the copyright page)
- First-state dust jacket carries the printed price on the front flap
- The classic Brooklyn Dodgers elegy
- Publisher imprint reads Harper & Row
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Roger Kahn |
| Publisher | Harper & Row |
| Year | 1972 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Harper & Row, 1972 |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
Harper & Row, 1972. The first printing has 'First Edition' stated on the copyright page together with the full number line printed at the foot of the last page ending in 1 (the Harper & Row convention of this era placed the number line on the final page, not the copyright page). First-state dust jacket carries the printed price on the front flap. The classic Brooklyn Dodgers elegy.

## Is this the true first?
The US Harper & Row first is the true first; a cornerstone of literary baseball writing.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Book-club editions lack the priced jacket and often show a blind stamp to the rear board. Verify both the stated 'First Edition' and the complete number line ending in 1 on the last page, with the priced jacket. Note that Harper & Row sometimes failed to delete the 'First Edition' statement on later printings, so the number line is the reliable check.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Boys of Summer* by Roger Kahn a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-boys-of-summer
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.