This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 12/20/2013
We've all seen nostalgic black and white footage of "The Sultan of Swat" Babe Ruth clouting one of his 714 career home runs, his spindly legs churning so quickly from his short-stepped gait that the video almost appears to be sped up faster than real time. But it's the avid collector in all of us that also stops to think, "Man, I wonder where that bat is right now." With a career that includes almost 8,400 official at bats and over 10,000 plate appearances, the Bambino certainly went through his share of lumber, though precious few examples of Babe Ruth game-used war clubs exist with rock solid authentication. Rarer still are examples from the early stages of his career, likely because his incredible success as a pitcher limited his batting appearances to just over 1,000 total at-bats in his first 6 seasons. These "transitional bats" were utilized at a time when Ruth was changing position from pitcher to hitter as well as location from Boston to New York. Now an outfielder, Ruth had to give thought towards the tools of his new trade and started experimenting with different styles of bat, often changing model, length, and weight from year to year. One model Ruth tried was the Louisville Slugger 40K Kork Grip, reportedly invented by Ty Cobb and utilized by such legendary players as Joe Jackson, Mickey Cochrane, Frankie Frisch, and George Sisler. While Ruth is not normally associated with the 40K, there are photos of him posing with the Kork Grip bat during games, and H&B archives reveal that Ruth specifically requested Kork Grip bats at times during his career. The presented specimen originates from a pivotal time in baseball history, when a young Babe Ruth was transitioning from first-class pitcher to the greatest hitter that the game has ever known! Identified as a 1918-1921 40K Louisville Slugger Model Game Bat, the stamp of George "Babe" Ruth, moderately faded by nearly a century of age, adorns the barrel of the aged lumber, with the Kork Grip patent and 1917-1921 style Hillerich and Bradsby label added to the bat's center. Extremely heavy use is evident with dead wood, a 6" crack on the handle, and various ball marks and cork remnants. Both ends of the bat show extreme wear and missing bits of wood around the circumference. Overall, this is an amazing piece of baseball history, perhaps traced back to his Boston Red Sox days but certainly in service well before there was any thought of Babe Ruth becoming baseball's greatest offensive juggernaut! LOA AUTHENTIC from Troy Kinunen/MEARS.