
Category: sports fiction
November 1922 issue ~ cover art by A. Rose

cover art by A. Rose
~Eustace Hale Ball & Earl Derby, “Dead Men Do Tell!”, ‘The First of the Black Mask Daytime Stories – not to be read at night by people with weak nerves.” EHB’s debut in BM
~ Carl Clausen, “The Careful Alibi”, ‘Complete Novelette’, 2nd of 3 stories in BM
~ Frederick Ames Coates, “Bottled Judgment”, last of 5 stories in BM
~ Peter Condet, “The Indorsed Check”, ‘baseball background’, 1st of 2 stories in BM
~ Thomas Ewing Dabney, “Tom Shepherd and the Rat”, 1st of 2 stories in BM
~ Marie Eisenbrandt, “The Breaking Point”, author’s sole appearance in BM
~ John Hanlon, “A Shred of Yellow Paper, ‘short-short, less than a half page‘, 1st of 3 stories in BM
~ Roy L. McCardell, “A Million A Year”, 1st of 4 parts, 1st of 5 appearances in BM
~ J.R. McCarthy, “Payment As Promised”, ‘short-short’, author’s only appearance in BM
~ John McColl, “But She Looked Lovely”, ‘poem’, 1st of 3 works in BM
~ C.S. Montanye (Carleton Stevens), “The Goat”, 13th of 29 stories in BM
~ Herman Petersen, “Shark-Bait”, ‘short-short‘, 5th of 20 stories in BM
~ A. Rose, “A Substitute for Blood”, ‘story illus. by author who also designed cover of issue’, author’s sole story in BM
~ Joe Taylor, “The Life of a Hold-Up Man”, ‘1st (of 12) tales in ‘My Underworld’ series; JT is advertised as ‘ex-automobile bandit’ with 15 years’ experience in crime; early on, listed as fact; later, as fiction; see p. 40 for photo-portrait of JT’, 1st of 13th appearances in BM
~ Sally Dixon Wright, “The House on the Dunes”, author’s only appearance in BM
©Seattle Mystery Bookshop
[cover updated 11/8/25]
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December 1935 issue ~ cover art by John Drew

cover art by John Drew
better image than previously posted
~ W.T. Ballard, “After Breakfast”, 2nd of 7 with ‘Red Drake, undercover investigator for the State Racing Commission, 1st-person narrator’, 16th of 43 stories in BM
~ Eugene Cunningham, “Tough People”, 1st of 2 with Det. Sgt. Bob Land, border patrol, 13th of 14 stories in BM
~ Erle Stanley Gardner, “Above the Law”, 62th Ed Jenkins, ‘The Phantom Crook’, 87th of 99 stories in BM
~ Nels Leroy Jorgensen, “The Man from Monaco”, 23rd of 32 with Stuart “Black” Burton, ‘square-shooting gambler from the Southwest, often entangled with the law’, 30th of 39 stories in BM
~ Eric Taylor, “Red Death”, ‘Gene Terry, detective, Metropolitan Agency’, 5th of 7 stories in BM
©Seattle Mystery Bookshop
June 1938 issue

June 1938 issue
cover art by James Lunnon
~ Leslie Charteris, “The Invisible Millionaire”, 1st of 2 Saint stories in BM, reprinted in The Black Lizard Big Book of Pulps (Vintage, 2007)
~ Joseph Csida, “Strike Three”, ‘baseball player killed in the field’, 2nd of 2 stories in BM
~ Steve Fisher, “Hollywood Party”, last of 2 stories with Tony Key in Hollywood, 6th of 9 stories in BM
~ Baynard H(ardwick) Kendrick, “Venom”, 6th of 14 stories with Mikes Standish (Stan) Rice, ‘The Hungry’[?], all set in Florida
~ Lawrence Treat, “A Night’s Work”, 2nd of 5 stories in BM
©Seattle Mystery Bookshop
December 1937 issue ~ cover art by J. George Janes

cover art by J. George Janes
~ W.T. Ballard, “Only Proof Counts”, last of 7 with ‘Red Drake, undercover investigator for the State Racing Commission, 1st-person narrator’, 29th of 43 stories in BM
~ Norbert Davis, “Murder in Two Parts”, ‘Brent’, 7th of 13 stories in BM
~ Frank Gruber, “Death on Eagle’s Craig”, 3rd of 10 with ‘Oliver Quade, The Human Encyclopedia’, reprinted in The Hardboiled Dicks (1965), reprinted in The Hardboiled Dicks (1965), 4th of 14 stories in BM
~ Eric Howard, “Copper, Have a Heart”, 4th of 6 story in BM
~ John Lawrence, “Club Fighter”, 1st of 2 stories with ‘Barron Hargraft & boxing in Detroit & NYC‘, 3rd of 14 stories in BM
~ Cornell Woolrich, “Dusk to Dawn”, ‘Lew Stahl’, 8th of 24 (22 original) stories to appear in BM
©Seattle Mystery Bookshop

[updated 1/26/26]
March 1946 issue ~ cover art by Rafael DeSoto

cover art by Rafael DeSoto
~ Thorne Lee, “The Mad Dog of Lame Creek”, author’s sole appearance in BM
~ Julius Long, “Forgive Not Our Trespassers”, 11th of 17 stories with ‘Ben Corbett, D.A.’s chief investigator, 1st -person narrator’, 16th of 23 stories in BM
~ Dick Pearce, “Homicide Hangover”, ‘Major Bill Boyle, just back from WWII’, only appearance in BM
~ H.H. Stinson, “You’re the Crime in My Coffin”, ‘Gerry Fowler of Fox, Fox, Shapiro & Fox, law firm’, 22nd of 27 stories in BM
~ Fergus Truslow, “The Killing Was Mutuel”, ‘Private snoop Galahan around Del Mar (California)’, 3rd of 6 stories in BM
~ K. Webster, “One Fall for Murder, ‘Steve Ransom, reporter; wrestling story’, last of 3 stories in BM
©Seattle Mystery Bookshop
[cover updated 1/29/26]


