Auction Item Details
Lot 557
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Lot Number: 557
Description: Exceptional Joe Sewell professional model baseball bat c.1921-1931. Extremely rare hand turned Louisville Slugger 125 model bat with "Joe Sewell" facsimile signature burned into the barrel end measures 34.5" long and weighs 39oz. Fine usage wear is evident throughout with the surface displaying choice patina and coloration suggestive of his known practice of applying tobacco juice before honing the surface with a coke bottle. Bat retains its original handle tape as applied in the period and incredibly this appears to mirror the same placement as can be seen in the photo included. Sewell is shown in conversation with Tris Speaker whose Washington Senators uniform style can be dated to 1926-1927 specifically. For all of the lauded accomplishments that individual players have turned out in the game's history, Sewell holds an often overlooked distinction that is truly astounding; in (7,132) at bats made over (14) season he only recorded (114) total strikeouts. By literal statistical measure, he remains the hardest man to strikeout in the history of baseball. Of noted rarity, known Sewell game bats are few and far between with only a handful of examples having surfaced. Family lore holds that he used only a handful over his career and he had inscribed this bat, "Joe Sewell used as #2 bat" (white marker/paint pen signature rates 8/9 out of 10). Period large format photograph is framed as displayed within the Sewell home (11"x14") with mild toning and a small tear visible at lower edge. Includes LOA from Hunt Auctions (bat) and auction LOA from JSA (auto.): EXEstimated Price Range: ($7,500-$10,000)
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