Rare baseball publications from long ago can yield up surprises even more rare. In this case, the pub is a promotional ‘Ballpark Issue,’ from Baseball Magazine, which contained a few articles and photographs and was about 1/4 the size of the actual magazine. BUT – the little promo contained something that the actual issues did not – bound in, full page blank-backed premiums of major league stars – in this case two National League pitchers, Walter Johnson and Nap Rucker.
My name is Rucker – so what, or who, was I after here? Nap Rucker was not a close relative, though we may share a common ancestor. But it was the rarity of these premiums that attracted me to them. They are printed in rotograph style, which does not use a geometrical screen, and done in the popular 1910s color – brown.
It is Walter Johnson that the fans would care about. His image is alway sought after. But on a premium unrecorded, and perhaps unseen since its day of production, any ball player would be interesting. Even Nap Rucker.