First published in 1920, baseball short stories by Zane Grey (who at one point aspired to become a major league ball player). According to Wikipedia: "Zane Grey (1872 1939) was an American author best known for his popular adventure novels and stories that presented an idealized image of the rugged Old West. As of June 2007, the Internet Movie Database credits Grey with 110 films, one TV episode, and a series, Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theater based loosely on his novels and short stories."