This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 10/1/2008
Just the very thought of a game used bat from the great Ted Williams conjures up thoughts and the imagination of any Baseball fan or historian. We are speaking of the same man who uttered that he wanted to be remembered as the greatest hitter who ever lived, in a Roy Hobbs like fashion that contained every bit of a Hollywood script, yet was in fact a reality. At the beginning of his career Williams was so fascinated by hitting that many of his teammates had a disdain for him that originated from his disinterest in playing the outfield because of his sole dedication to hitting. So focused on the singular effort of batting was Williams that he regularly visited the Hillerich and Bradsby headquarters in Louisville, KY., to select his own wood for his bats, and he would often be able to discern minuscule differences in weights of bats by just taking a swing or two. The offered bat displays as an almost mythical war club much like a gladiator's sword. Knowing that the immensely talented and singularly focused Williams used this bat seemingly gives off a vibe that can be felt when one takes a couple of swings with this great Baseball artifact. The bat is uncracked and shows amazing use with a slight bit of grain swelling evident on the back of the barrel (Williams desired hitting area) from repeated ball contact. The offered bat does display a nice amount of blue and green paint from the Fenway Stadium bat rack as well a multitude of ball and stitch markings. The handle of the bat is held captive under a stunning embellishment of heavy pine tar applied in Ted Williams-esque fashion. The famous #9 is partially visible underneath the pine tar on the handle as well as the customary underscore the he often embodied, with the model number W183 being stamped into the knob. The offered bat can almost certainly be pointed to having been manufactured during the 1955 season for use that year by a small imperfection that appears above the centerbrand, a mark that almost exclusively appears on W183 model bats (Williams used this model during the 1955-57 seasons) from the 1955 season. An absolutely stunning Ted Williams bat that PSA/DNA has graded a similarly amazing grade of GU-10. LOA PSA/DNA John Taube.