The Goose is Loose - Goose Gossage

I have no specific recollection of buying this book but at the time of its release, I was devouring sports biographies. I got a pretty good discount at the bookstore where I was working part-time and would go through a couple books a month in addition to the other stuff I was reading.

If I remember correctly this book wasn't full of deep wisdom or life lessons, but rather a pretty humorous look at life behind the scenes of a baseball player. The cover shows Goose sitting atop a suitcase featuring stickers from all the teams he played for over the course of 22 seasons, including the Cubs in 1988. By the time Gossage retired, he had played for nine different teams including two stints with the Yankees where he also spent the most time.

Probably 2-3 years after the book came out, I was really getting into building my signed book collection. According to my records, it took about a month and didn't cost me anything other than the book and postage both ways. This was pre-HOF days and I believe he charges a fee now. It is personalized to me with a short message, his autograph and his #54 which he wore for every team he played for.