Spalding's Baseball Guide and Official League Book for 1889

Produced by Joshua Hutchinson, Lorna Hanrahan
and PG Distributed Proofreaders
Experience has shown that in Base Ball and Athletic Goods, as in all other lines of business, unprincipled persons are always eager to prey on the reputation gained by honest dealing and good business management. We regret to state that we have not escaped the attention of such parties, who have appropriated our original designs, styles and names, and by using similar illustrations and descriptions, deceive the public into believing that the articles were manufactured by us, and that we are responsible for their inferior quality. A wide acquaintance with sportsmen and an extended experience with the various sports, has enabled us to anticipate the wants of our patrons in securing outfits, and to offer only such articles as were perfectly satisfactory for our own use, knowing by practical tests that they would serve the purpose properly, and be unfailing to the purchaser.
In order to protect our customers, and to preserve our reputation, we have found it necessary to place our Trade Mark on the higher grades of goods that we manufacture and introduce. The care and discrimination exercised in selecting only articles of the highest quality as being worthy of bearing our Trade Mark, has resulted in giving to them a reputation as being practically the best of their kind that could be produced.
We hope that ball players will not be misled by the remarks of interested dealers handling inferior goods, that the articles they offer are just as good as Spalding's and at a cheaper price. We accept their frequent references to our goods as the highest compliment that can be paid us, and only ask that purchasers will do their own comparisons, and be convinced that our goods are really the cheapest as they certainly are the best. Special trade prices are quoted to dealers on application.
CHICAGO. A. G. SPALDING & BROS. NEW YORK.
Publisher's Notice

Spalding's Base Ball Guide again greets the base ball public with the official records of America's national game. First issued in 1877, it has grown in popularity, has been enlarged and improved from year to year, and is now the recognized authority upon base ball matters. The statistics contained in the Guide can be relied upon, nearly all of them having been compiled from official records.