Signed book: The Rough Riders. Later printing. NY: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1900. Hardcover, 5.25 x 7.75, 298 pages. Signed boldly on the first free end page in fountain pen as president, “Theodore Roosevelt, March 30th 1903,” who adds a terrific sports-themed quote above: “In life, or on the football field, your motto should be — don’t flinch, don’t foul, hit the line hard!” The adjacent inside front cover bears an affixed transmittal letter from Roosevelt’s White House secretary, dated March 30, 1903, which forwards “herewith the copy of ‘The Rough Riders’ which you forwarded, in which the President has placed an inscription.” Autographic condition: fine, with some light soiling to the signed page. Book condition: VG-/None, with spine darkened, loose hinges, rubbing to boards, and bumped corners.
An exceptional signed book containing Roosevelt’s unique perspective as head of the Rough Riders, a special period that he deemed as his greatest achievement; after two terms as President, he still preferred to be called 'Colonel Roosevelt,' and he considered the charge on San Juan Hill as 'the great day of my life.'
Moreover, the added quote by Roosevelt remains one of his most enduring. Although his nearsightedness kept him off the Harvard varsity squad, Roosevelt was a vocal exponent of football’s contribution to the ‘strenuous life,’ both on and off the field. As New York City police commissioner, he helped revive the annual Harvard-Yale football series after it had been canceled for two years following a violent 1894 clash. His belief that the football field was a proving ground for the battlefield was validated by the performance of his fellow Rough Riders, some of whom were former football standouts.
St. Nicholas was a popular American juvenile periodical that was issued monthly from November 1873 through March 1940. The May 1900 issue opens with an essay by Theodore Roosevelt entitled, ‘What We Can Expect of the American Boy,’ which begins, ‘Of course, what we have a right to expect of the American boy is that he shall turn out to be a good American man. Now the chances are strong that he won't be much of a man unless he is a good deal of a boy.’ To make such a boy, Roosevelt summed it up with three traits: a strong body, a strong mind, and courage.
The article concluded with what is now one of his most famous and inspirational quotes: ‘In short, in life, as in a football game, the principle to follow is: Hit the line hard: don't foul and don't shirk, but hit the line hard.’
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