October Legends and Americana Ending November 14th
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 11/15/2015
In the late 1920's and early 1930's the Hanna Bat Company managed to convince some of the game's biggest stars to switch from Louisville Sluggers to their Batrite brand bats. The Athens, Georgia company developed a "Steel Tempered" finish which prevented checking (grain
swelling) from repeated ball contact. Players like Lou Gehrig and Jimmie Foxx placed orders with the company and photo documentation proves they were used in big league games. For many years these Hanna bats were a mystery to game used collectors since unlike Louisville Slugger, no archive of player order records survives. However, game used equipment experts at MEARS have done groundbreaking research into the Hanna bats and discovered a few tidbits that shed light on these Hanna bats. For instance, the barrel of this Ruth model is stamped model number "TA55".
"TA" was the code used by Hanna to identify their top of the line bat model. TA was used on bats ordered by players as well as those sent to stores. The most important information uncovered by MEARS comes from court documents originating from a lawsuit between Hillerich & Bradsby and Hanna. Lou Gehrig testified that he was under the impression that Hanna bats bearing his name on the barrel were for his professional use only, and not sold in stores. The same can be assumed for other player name stamped bats such as this Ruth, yet a 1930 catalogue offers Ruth and other player models to consumers. So due to lack of solid provenance MEARS is unable to state without doubt this bat was game used by Babe Ruth. The Hanna Batrite TA55 RUTH model bat is un-cracked and shows heavy game use. Both the knob and barrel ends show wear from contact with the ground and there are several cleat marks and abrasions throughout. Some dead wood can be found on the back barrel but otherwise this is an outstanding looking bat. The factory stamping is both deep and dark and the ash has taken on a deep warm tone with age. The bat also exhibits a slight bow, another trait sometimes found on bats with this type of age. The knob end has patent info stamped into it and the wood has cracked a slight bit with age. The bat's length is 35", typical of Ruth's game used bats of the era. The weight is 30 ounces - The Babe's bats were 35-39 ounces but it should be pointed out that the MEARS evaluation states that many bats have lost 5 ounces due to age, so this bat may have once been in the range of Ruth's game used bats. MEARS has examined this bat and determined that this bat is consistent with known player characteristics such as model and length and although there is no documentation or factory records that have survived, the exact barrel samplings were found on a side written Lou Gehrig bat that was used in major league play. A very attractive and scarce Ruth model bat. Letter of Authenticity from MEARS who have graded this bat A5.