Rudd, Irving – The Sporting Life. The Duke and Jackie, Pee Wee, Razor Phil, Ali, Mushky Jackson and Me.

Description

Rudd, Irving ‘The Sporting Life. The Duke and Jackie, Pee Wee, Razor Phil, Ali, Mushky Jackson and Me.’ 1990 1st ed. 288-pages. VG/VG (2) $15 each.

The 1990 first edition hardcover of The Sporting Life, written by legendary sports publicist Irving Rudd in collaboration with sports writer Stan Fischler, was published by St. Martin’s Press in New York. Subtitled The Duke and Jackie, Pee Wee, Razor Phil, Ali, Mushky, Jackson, and Me, this 288-to-304 page volume is an anecdotal, behind-the-scenes memoir capturing five decades of American sports promotion.

Book Synopsis & Editorial Focus:
The autobiography chronicles the colorful career of Irving Rudd (1917–2000), widely considered one of the greatest, most creative press agents in sports history. Writing with his signature wit, Rudd recounts his experiences working at the epicenter of major 20th-century athletic milestones:
• The Brooklyn Dodgers Era: Rudd serves up insider stories from his time with the historic 1950s Dodgers at Ebbets Field, highlighting his close relationships with icons like Jackie Robinson, Duke Snider, and Pee Wee Reese.
• The Boxing World: The narrative dives deep into the high-stakes, eccentric world of boxing promotion, tracking his public relations work for heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali, middleweight king Rocky Graziano, and legendary characters like “Razor” Phil Terranova and fight manager Mushky Jackson.
• Horse Racing & Beyond: It captures his later years managing publicity for major racetracks (such as Yonkers Raceway) and staging promotional spectacles that fundamentally shaped how modern athletic events are marketed to the public.

Physical Design & Market Features:
• Original Retail Price: The book originally debuted with a retail price of $17.95 printed on the front flap of the dust jacket.
• Dust Jacket: The volume was issued with a distinct, illustrated paper dust jacket featuring photographic elements or stylized title typography to highlight the famous sports figures mentioned in the subtitle.
• Pagination: The main text spans approximately 288 pages (extending up to 304 pages when accounting for all frontmatter, introductory acknowledgments, and backmatter) printed on standard trade book stock.
• First Edition Identification: True first printings feature a 1990 publication date on the copyright page alongside a full number line (e.g., 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1), which was the standard cataloging system used by St. Martin’s Press at the time.