Auction Item Details
Lot 280
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Lot Number: 280
Description: Exceptional Jackie Robinson professional model baseball bat c.1950-51. Louisville Slugger 125 model bat measures 34 1/2"" long and weighs 35.4oz. The bat exhibits wonderful evidence of use inclusive of multiple ball marks, stitching impressions, rack marks, cleat marks, and small area of grain separation at back of barrel. Model number S100 is stamped on knob end. The history of the offered bat begins with Thomas Michael "Buckshot" Brown. From 1943 through 1945, Brooklyn Dodgers star shortstop Pee Wee Reese served in the U.S. military during World War II. In order to fill Reese's spot, the Dodgers called up Tommy Brown from the Minor Leagues as a utility infielder in 1944. Brown remained with the team until 1951 and became friendly with teammate Jackie Robinson during that time. According to family history, when Brown was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies in 1951, Robinson presented the offered bat to Brown indicating to him that, "...it was his lucky bat and he wanted him to have it." The bat has remained in the Brown family since that time until its current offering and is one of the finest of its type to have entered the marketplace with special note to its unimpeachable provenance. Jackie Robinson epitomizes the very essence of the phrase "changing history". His path to immortality was filled with adversity, challenges, rewards, defeats, and ultimately success as he became the first African American player in the history of Major League baseball. Robinson entered the game of baseball some 60 years ago, which does not seem significantly far in the past, that is, unless one considers the dramatic social and political changes that have occurred since. Timeless baseball artifact which is being offered to the public for the first time from the family of the original recipient. Includes LOA from Hunt Auctions, letter of provenance from the family of Tommy Brown, and a copy of a Brooklyn Dodgers team photograph which pictures both Brown and Robinson: EX
Estimated Price: ($40,000.00-$50,000.00)
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