I don’t think so. Bill James started publishing in the mid-70s, and he spent his first years trying to convince people to count walks as something positive, not some cowardly way some batters have of avoiding swinging at pitches like men do. If you look at reference books from the 70s, they don’t even list OBP as a category.
The AL Redbooks did. Check it out. I still have my 76 or 77 one. I also have a baseball encyclopedia from 1973 in the house somewhere. I’ll try to check that one.
Please do. I own a Baseball Encyclopedia (ed. Joe Reichler) 1979 (5th) edition, that lists SLG but not OBA, and several '76 and 77 Baseball Digests, that do likewise, and the Complete Book of Baseball, 1979 ed. Zander Hollander, which has paragraphs about Morgan and Randolph but not a syllable about their ability to reach base via the BB. It just wasn’t on the radar screen in 1979.
I clearly misremembered. My 88’ Baseball Encyclopedia does have OBA but not my Redbook.
I can’t find the 73 Baseball Encyclopedia.
I don’t think most did.