This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 5/1/2016
This lot offers an extremely rare opportunity to own an early professional model bat from the great Ted Williams. As a rookie era bat with label dating which extends past the magical 1941 season this bat will be a fine addition to most advanced collections. Additionally, it has several unique traits which can be documented directly to Ted Williams- Fenway Park bat rack marks and surface discoloration caused from the rosin and olive oil treatment specifically applied and preferred by Ted Williams.
The expert staff of MEARS has evaluated this bat and are proud to offer our findings:
Length (35”): Measuring 35” in length, the bat is consistent with Ted William’s H&B bat records from the 1937-1944 era.
Weight (35 ounces): Currently weighing 35 ounces, this bat is consistent with Ted Williams H&B bat records with respect to weight from the 1937-1944 era. His records document the fact he ordered bats weighing 31-38 ounces during the era and this bat falls within an acceptable weight range.
Dating: As was the custom of Louisville Slugger, pre 1944 bats were found without a model number on the knob, thus we dated the bat to 1937-1944.
Game Use: Bat has been evaluated as having heavy game use, heavy ball/stitch marks (deeply embedded). Green painted bat rack marks (Documented to have been found on Fenway Park used bats) and gray bat rack marks are found on the area of the handle. This means the bat was used at both Fenway Park and on the road. It also illustrated extended use. To emphasize the point, the game use on this bat is phenomenal.
When you hear the phrase “discoloration”, your first reaction would be that is a negative feature. In the case of this examined bat, it is documentation that Ted Williams personally handled this bat. Ted William’s was known to apply an olive oil and resin mixture, thus creating his own version of pine tar. In this evaluator’s opinion, the discoloration was caused by the application and removal of olive oil. This practice was documented in several books.
The first, “Ted Williams: the Biography of An American Hero”, the author writes, “Williams weighed his bats every day, scraping them clean of olive oil and resin”. MEARS did not have the bat chemically tested, but it is my personal belief that the application, scraping, application, scraping, application, scraping caused the discoloration on the barrel end. To the area to the left of the left side of the centerbrand oval, there is a large 5” oval area of what appears to be the remnants of visible olive oil and resin residue. It shows as a dark area when compared to the natural wood hue of the bat. Upon inspection, one can see the tender care of rubbing rosin on the top of the bat and stroking it into the wood as applied by Ted Williams.
In the book, “Ted Williams: Remembering the Splendid Splinter”, Bobby Doerr recalls, “Williams was the first to come up with a combination of olive oil and resin to get a better grip”.
Finally, the practice was again mentioned in the book, “Ted Williams- Pursuit of Perfect” by Bill Nowlin. Bobby Doerr again recalled, “Ted always had a problem hanging onto the bat using just the resin. That’s because his hands would be slippery. Ted got the idea to use olive oil with resin for a stick um. God that olive oil and resin gave you a real firm grip with the bat. Just put a little drop of oil on your hand, then resin. These theories of his proved out and eventually players came to use modern day pine tar.”
Upon close inspection of the grain of the bat, you can see towards the barrel end, that the grain is compressed, most likely a result of being boned. Doerr also noted the practice. He recalled, “Ted even had a device put in the clubhouse, mounted with a big bone, and he was always boning his bats.”
The best way to describe the process of boning is with a visual inspection of the grain. You can see how the lines are squished, becoming blurry in spots. This would be consistent with the bat being rubbed against a steer bone.
The player uniform number is not present on the knob of this bat. Early examples of Williams’s bats were sometimes found without a “9”, and we have provided images to support blank knob Williams bats.
Final Grade (MEARS A9.5): The bat was originally graded a 7.5 by retired bat authenticator Dave Bushing on April 1st, 2006. At the original time of evaluation, the authenticator noted the bat rack marks, but as allowed per our grading criteria, no points were added. Furthermore, there was no mention of the olive and resin mixture, nor the presence of boning. The bat was regraded on April 20th, 2016 by Troy R. Kinunen.
Base grade of 5 points was assigned for bat matching player records with respect to model, length, and weight. 3 points was assigned for heavy game use/deeply embedded stitch marks. 2 points were added for player traits, i.e. bat rack marks, presence of olive oil/resin, removal stains of olive oil and resin, boning, and deeply embedded ball marks. Minus ½ point for 1” dent on reverse of barrel. Images are provided to document: Williams applying olive oil to the handle of his bat, olive/resin residue on the barrel and handle of Ted Williams’s bats, and photographic evidence of Ted Williams’s bats in a game sans uniform number on knob.
(89R0517)
(MEARS LOA)