Cubs Roster Books - Spring vs. Regular

Several years ago I put together my collection of Cubs' Roster Books.  The first edition came out in 1958 and that continued through 1981.  Starting in 1982 the books were labeled media guides.

I was able to get one for each year.  At the time, I was aware that there were different editions for each season, typically one from the spring and one regular or mid-season edition.

It didn't matter to me which one I had as long as each year was represented.

It was only within the past year that I finally realized that there was a major difference between the spring and other editions.

Pictures.

The spring edition had no pictures of the players, while the others did.  I suppose that makes sense since the spring book was put together over the winter and the team's roster was changing.  Getting pictures of the new players in Cubs gear wasn't possible until the team reported to Arizona, so the spring book had none.  Once the season began and the regular edition was released, pictures were added to the book.

So...

I really liked the idea of having pictures of the players, and I made the decision to get a regular edition for each season.  I went through my collection and counted eight spring versions.  They would need to be replaced, and the quest was on.

Several were easy to find, but it took a while to get the rest.  This week I received my final missing regular, from 1962.

I now happily have a regular or mid-season edition for each year.

No, I won't go and get spring editions for all years...

...for now!