Registration opens:
April 07th, 2025

Author Talk with Phil Coffin

When Baseball Was Still Topps & A Baseball Book of Days

Phil Coffin, a Point Pleasant Beach resident, longtime editor at The New York Times, and a member of the Society for American Baseball Research since 1994, will discuss his books about baseball.

Phil Coffin, a Point Pleasant Beach resident, longtime editor at The New York Times, and a member of the Society for American Baseball Research since 1994, will discuss his books: When Baseball Was Still Topps and the recently published A Baseball Book of Days.

In When Baseball Was Still Topps, essays on every one of the 572 cards in the 1959 Topps set tell stories about the players, the game and the times in mid-20th century baseball. There’s the slugger who had his arms around Marilyn Monroe – before Joe DiMaggio did. Mickey Mantle’s 10 longest home runs, and the pitcher who never got over giving up one of them. The pitcher from Mayberry. And many more.

A Baseball Book of Days is an Advent calendar of baseball history, using 31 dates to detail baseball moments serious (Jackie Robinson’s first game) or light-hearted (the only game of the 3-foot-7-inch Eddie Gaedel or for Moonlight Graham) or historical (the debut of the first of 1,000 Dominican ballplayers and the last major league team to integrate).

Phil will have copies of both books for sale.

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