Johnny Evers will live on for all eternity thanks to the poem by Franklin Pierce Adams’ poem “Tinkers to Evers to Chance” which made the Cubs double play trio household names. Evers was arguably the most talented out of the Hall of Fame trio, often acknowledged as the smartest mind in baseball. Indeed it was his keen sense of the game that helped him identify Fred Merkle’s base running error in a Cubs-Giants game. The loss of the game was later attributed to the Giants losing the pennant to Evers’ Chicago Cubs, a rare example of a ballplayer winning a game not with his bat or glove but with his head. Despite Evers’ star status with the Cubs his intensity on and off the field made him a very polarizing figure – teammates called him “The Human Crab” for his surly disposition and after 12 years in Chicago he had worn out his welcome. When the Boston Braves began assembling a pennant contender, it was only natural that they traded for Johnny Evers. Though the 1914 Braves team would be called “the Hitless Wonders” for their impotent bats, Evers had one of his best seasons at the plate with a .279 average and 20 doubles. But it was his veteran leadership that made the difference as Boston not only won the pennant but surprised the sporting world by sweeping Connie Mack’s Philadelphia A’s for the World Championship. Again Evers came through with his bat by pounding the A’s pitching at a .438 clip. Evers was awarded the Chalmers Award for 1914, the equivalent of todays MVP Award. This was to be the high point of Evers career. He finished out the 1917 season with Boston and then served as an officer in the First World War. Later Evers managed both the Cubs and White Sox before being elected to the Hall of Fame in 1946. This spectacular Spalding bat has been attributed to Evers during the 1914 and 1915 campaigns.

     The bat is a model "E", 32 inches in length, 36.4 ounces in weight and hand turned. Model E bats are considerable rarer than their more prevalent Gold Medal or Player Autograph models. This line of bats were player-specific models, the letter denoting particular star players: "B" for Frank Baker, "S" for Tris Speaker and of course "E" for Evers. The bat shows tremendous game use with many ball marks visible throughout. Blue and green bat rack paint streaks can be seen on the front and left barrel. The bat's handle has been taped approximately 10 1/2 inches in a distinctive criss-cross pattern to enhance the grip. Store model Spalding bats of the period came complete with the company logo stamped into the knob and barrel ends - this bat has been deemed a professional model through the stamping's absence and visible lathe marks pin their place. Also, the rougher, unfinished look to the Spalding stamp on the barrel differentiates this bat from a more polished store model. When PSA/DNA examined this bat they were able to find a photograph of Evers taken during the 1914 World Series in which he is holding a bat that is very similar to the one here. Michael Snyder of NASAMAN Imagery Services which does image analysis for NASA among other high profile clients has identified numerous physical attributes of the bat in the 1914 photograph that can be seen of the bat offered here. Mr. Snyder's report is included but among the unique qualities identified is the criss-cross tape pattern on the handle and the Spalding stamping. While high resolution photography does not exist of the 1914 World Series to enable one to call it a definite photo match, the evidence strongly suggests and PSA bat experts agree this is the bat he used in the 1914 World Series that is pictured. You rarely see pre-war game used bats, but this is a pre-pre-war bat as it dates from before the First World War. What’s more is that it was used by one of the most well-known turn-of-the-century ballplayers, a first-tier Hall of Famer whose very name evokes baseball history. Throw in the fact that it was used during his MVP season in which he led his team to a World Championship and you have a bat of historical importance that would be hard to surpass. Letter of Authenticity from PSA/DNA who have graded this bat GU 9 and proclaimed it the finest Evers game used bat they have handled.

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