Babe Ruth 100th Anniversary Auction
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 7/19/2014
1971 was a different time. When Orioles slugger Frank Robinson hit a Fred Scherman pitch into the Memorial Stadium stands it was the 500th homer of his career. Up to that date only 10 players in the history of the game had reached the ultimate home run milestone. Today if a player hit his 500th, the media blitz during the days preceding the event would be incredible and the ball, bat, home plate and all three bases, jersey, hat - even the cleats the player wore - would be carefully tagged and each sold for the price of mid-sized mansion. But on September 13, 1971 Frank Robinson simply did his home run trot as the scoreboard flashed a crude graphic and afterwards posed with the lucky fan that caught the momentous blast. Meeting the college kid who snagged the ball, Frank asked for it. Without a second thought the fan handed it over and received another ball and a bat for his trouble. Both were more than pleased with the exchange and photographer Tom Donahue snapped a picture of the two. Frank asked for a copy of the picture and Donahue asked for the bat Robinson used in exchange. Frank agreed and signed the barrel with a thick black marker and wrote his uniform number "20" on the knob end. No one thought of making a fortune off the event, just three men happy with a personal souvenir of a great event in baseball history. It sure was a different time.
Goldin Auctions is proud to be able to offer the bat Frank Robinson used to earn his membership to the 500 Home Run Club. The Hillerich & Bradsby R161M bat is a beautiful example of Louisville Slugger engineering. The flame burned finish brings out the wood's grain which over time has aged to a soft, buttery pattern. The bat's stampings are dark and clear, contrasting nicely with the finish. It shows excellent use, probably being one of his favorites. Blue bat rack paint streaks can be seen on the barrel along with several ball marks and stitch impressions. Pine tar lightly coats the bat's handle and model number R161M is stamped into the knob end. Robinson's number "20" (written by Robinson the day of the homer) along with the bat's weight "35" is hand written in black marker on the knob. Records at Louisville Slugger date this bat to a single order placed on August 31, 1971 - just weeks before his historic clout. The photographer Tom Donahue kept the bat in his possession for many years and in 1990 he was reunited with Robinson at an event where the two men autographed copies of Donahue's photographs of the 500th home run. Donahue had Robinson sign the bat again, this time in stronger black marker with the additional notation "Homerun #500 9/13/71". At the time Robinson mistakenly wrote "8/13/71" but managed to turn the 8 into a 9 before handing it back to Donahue.
This is a beautiful bat, made all the more desirable by its link to one of baseball's greatest moments. There is only one Frank Robinson 500th home run bat and this is it. With it's rock-solid provenance it is truly a one-of-a-kind piece of history. Included with the bat are 3 photographs of Frank Robinson, one a black and white copy taken in the locker room holding the 500 ball, signed in marker. Letter of Authenticity from PSA/DNA who have graded this museum quality bat a perfect GU 10. Signed letter of Authenticity from Frank Robinson is also included (if you haven't been keeping track, that's four Frank Robinson autographs. Besides being one of the greatest sluggers in the history of the game, Frank is also notoriously one of the most difficult signatures to obtain).
This lot has a Reserve Price that has not been met.