Detroit-area library says Chicago man can keep overdue baseball book — 50 years later

DETROIT — Fifty years later, a man who grew up in suburban Detroit tried to return a very overdue baseball book to his boyhood library.

The answer: You can keep it — and no fine.

Chuck Hildebrandt, 63, of Chicago said he visited the public library in Warren while in town for Thanksgiving, carrying a book titled “Baseball’s Zaniest Stars.” He had borrowed it in 1974 as a 13-year-old “baseball nut” but never returned it.

“When you’re moving with a bunch of books, you’re not examining every book. You throw them in a box and go,” said Hildebrandt, who has lived in many cities. “But five or six years ago, I was going through the bookshelf and there was a Dewey decimal library number on the book. What is this?”

Inside the book was a slip of paper indicating that it was due back at the Warren library on Dec. 4, 1974. Hildebrandt told The Associated Press that he decided to keep the book until 2024 — the 50th anniversary — and then try to return it. He figured the library might want to publicize the long overdue exchange.

He said he recently met library director Oksana Urban, who listened to his pitch. Hildebrandt said he hasn’t heard anything since then, though Urban told the Detroit Free Press that all is forgiven.

“Some people never come back to face the music,” she said of patrons with overdue books. “But there was really no music to face because he and the book were erased from our system.”

So “Baseball’s Zaniest Stars” is back on Hildebrandt’s shelf. In return, he’s now trying to raise $4,564 for Reading is Fundamental, a nonprofit literacy group. The amount roughly represents a 50-year overdue library fine. Hildebrandt is seeding the effort with $457.