This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 8/2/2015
John Francis Morrill (February 19, 1855 – April 2, 1932), was nicknamed “Honest John” and enjoyed a lengthy professional baseball career which spanned from 1876-1890. Versatile, he played every position, mainly as an infielder. He amassed 1,275 hits and finished with a .260 batting average. In an incredible season in 1883, he batted .316, played six different positions, and led the Boston Beaneaters to the National League pennant after taking over as manager from Jack Burdock in midseason.
Certainly a pioneer of early baseball, Johnny Morrill also holds the distinction as being the earliest player to have his name stamped on a bat. Early equipment was not marked with players names. The earliest identification of a bat was the 1887 Detroit stamped baseball bat which originated from the Deacon White collection. That examples was stamped “Detroit”, but was sans any player identification.
Per our research, Johnny Morrill was the first player to have his name stamped into the barrel of his bat. Another example has entered the hobby, minus the decorative stripes.
Dating: Johnny Morrill was an active player with the 1876-1882 Boston Red Caps, 1883-1888 Boston Beaneaters, 1890 Boston Red Stockings, and finally with the 1901 Denver Grizzlies. It’s possible the bat was used with any of those teams, but Wright & Ditson was a known sporting goods supplier during the 1883-1890 era.
Markings: 10 black painted rings are evenly spaced from knob to barrel end. “WRIGHT & DITSON, BOSTON, MAKERS, NO. 0” is factory printed onto the sweet spot of the barrel. “MORRILL” is deeply factored stamped into the opposite side. Examination with a digital microscope reveals the stampings are aged in a manner consistent with the rest of the bat and appears to have been stamped at the time the bat was produced by Wright & Ditson.
Length (33”): Measuring 33” in length, the bat was within the rules governing baseball during the era (42” max)
Weight (42 ounces): Weighing 42 ounces, the bat is consistent with other examples that have entered the hobby. There was no rule limiting weight.
Model “0”: Noted on the barrel as “No 0” it should be interested to note that in the 1884 Wright & Ditson catalog, retail models No. 1 – No. 9 were listed for sale. There was no mention of a Model O, thus possibly indicating this was also one of the first professional model bats which was designated specifically for a player.
Additionally per our research, it was established that Johnny Morrill had a good working relationship with Wright & Ditson. In 1884, together Morrill and W&D collaborated together in their illustrated catalog, page 13, by offering “Book on Batting by John Morrill”.
Game Use: Bat exhibits heavy game use while retaining a near mint appearance.
Final Grade (Authentic): After a review of the dating, markings, manufacturer, player name stamping, length, weight, model, and game use, MEARS determined this bat is consistent with what you would expect to find a professional player using during the era. With no other player identified bats known, we feel this is the first example of a bat that may have used professionally. Finally, King Kelly was photographed holding a Wright & Ditson bat during the photo shoot for his Old Judge card, creating an another association of players to the W&D brand.