October Legends and Americana Ending November 14th
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 11/15/2015
For a period lasting from the late 1920's into the early 30's Lou Gehrig used bats manufactured by the Hanna Manufacturing Company. The Athens, Georgia company had developed a finish called "Steel Tempered" that protected the wood from checking, the swelling and separation of the wood grain due to repeated ball contact. Gehrig's model of choice was the "116 Beaver Driver" and he liked the feel of it so much that when he did switch back to Louisville Sluggers he sent them one of his Hanna's to copy. The leading bat experts MEARS have done extensive research into the Hanna Batrites and found some interesting facts. MEARS uncovered court testimony from Lou Gehrig given during a Hanna-Hillerich & Bradsby lawsuit in which he states that he was under the impression that bats bearing his name were only produced for his use. The certified game used Gehrig Hanna Batrites including the one sent to H&B to replicate were marked with "TA" like this one, however a catalogue dated 1930 shows that the TA models was also available for retail. So unlike Hillerich & Bradsby bats which have specific characteristic differentiating professional and store models, Hanna bats are more ambiguous. MEARS has found characteristics that could be expected to be found on Gehrig game used bats, however due to lack of specific provenance they have graded this bat an A5. The Gehrig model 116 bat shows heavy game use and is un-cracked. There is some dead wood found on the reverse of the barrel and a small chip has been taken out of the knob. There are lineal indentations on the barrel next to the Gehrig name stamp, which is consistent with other Gehrig bats. From the "6" stamped on the after the model number "11" on the center brand we know the bat left the factory measuring 36". However the bat shows signs that it was shortened and sanded to its current length of 35 1/2". The weight is 30 ounces, 5 ounces less than the weight Gehrig normally ordered his bats, but according to MEARS bats have been known to lose up to 5 ounces with age. It should also be noted that Gehrig requested lighter bats from Hanna as evidenced by the letter which he sent to the bat company. This may also shed some light on why the bat is lighter than usual models Gehrig used throughout his career.
This lot has a Reserve Price that has not been met.