“Game Used” Lumber: Wartime Service Adds Meaning for Collectors

Collecting vintage baseball bats is an interesting venture and those who (nearly) exclusively pursue these old pieces of wood (and for some people, aluminum) can be quite rewarding. Understanding the nuances within this part of the baseball memorabilia hobby requires substantial knowledge of all of the manufacturers, models, market levels, brands, marks and other differentiators in order to make informed investment decisions. The arena of bat collecting has many specializations, ranging from those who pursue game-used bats (meaning those used by major or minor leaguers in their games) and those who collect at-game, stadium giveaways for special events. Still, there are individuals who chase down baseball bats from obscure or defunct manufacturers that can date back into the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

Clearly, baseball bats are a central component within the realm of collecting baseball militaria as they were a component of the kits that were shipped throughout the combat theaters to troops during the war. As athletic equipment was non-essential to the war-fighting effort, tax dollars could not be used to appropriate sporting goods for the troops to use during recreation. Recognizing the physical and mental benefits that playing sports had for GIs in boosting their morale and well-being, considerable fund-raising efforts were taken on by notable Americans to provide the necessary equipment (see: Ted Williams: BATtered, Abused and Loved). In addition to the sports equipment purchased through fundraising events, manufacturers such as Rawlings, GoldSmith, Spalding and Hillerich & Bradsby donated their wares directly to the War Department for distribution to the ranks.

The game-used market can be an eye-opening experience when one discovers the prices and values of bats from journeyman players, let alone those from stars and legends of the game. A 1934 game-used bat from Philadelphia Athletics first baseman Jimmie Foxx sold at auction in 2018 for a paltry $90,000 while a 1939-1942 Ted Williams piece sold for $24,000.  Contemporary game- used bats can sell for far less than the aforementioned examples yet one could easily see four-digit selling prices.

In the realm of military-used wartime bats, collector interest is significantly reduced and so the prices for these artifacts follow suit. Service-used bats we have seen were manufactured by Hillerich & Bradsby (maker of the famed Louisville Slugger brand) yet bats from other makers were also used. In terms of market availability, most of the examples of military baseball bats were made by the historic company that remains in the city where it was founded, Louisville, Kentucky. Our pursuit of vintage bats is nearly entirely focused upon military-used (or issued) examples.

The lack of finish on the barrel and the smoothed-over usage marks reveal an incomplete refinish attempt (Chevrons and Diamonds Collection).

Service or military baseball bats are by no means rare and they command prices that are mere fractions of their professional game -used counterparts. One of our most recent acquisitions, a Hillerich & Bradsby “Safe Hit,” U.S.N.-stamped, Stan Musial signature model, is one of the nicest examples that we have seen in recent years. Often referred to as a “store” or “consumer” model bat, this “H&B”- brand bat was sold as an inexpensive product geared towards entry-level players. The bats are typically marked with a different (from that of the Louisville Slugger line) center-brand stamp that features a catalog number. The barrels of the bats are limited to the player endorsement signature unless they were also marked with a service branch stamp above or below the autograph (Stan Musial served in the Navy from January 22, 1945 until March 1, 1946, playing baseball for Navy teams at Bainbridge, Maryland, Fleet City (Shoemaker), California and Pearl Harbor, Territory of Hawaii. See: 1945 US Navy Road Gray Uniform: Stan Musial).

The top of the center brand is as crisp as the bottom. The H&B line received a black-foil stamp rather than a burned-in brand (as with the higher-end product lines). Typical examples from this show excessive loss of the black foil (Chevrons and Diamonds Collection).

The markings of the center brand are consistent with Hillerich & Bradsby’s H&B-line, 1932 – 1952 bat label manufacturing period, which includes bats used during the war years. Considering that Stan Musial’s major league debut was at the end of the 1941 season and he didn’t establish himself as an everyday player until the 1942 season, it is reasonable to think that he would not have seen a consumer product endorsement until well into the 1943 season,  the year of his first All-Star appearance and his being named the National League Most Valuable Player. With Musial’s ascension to star status,, it is most likely that Hillerich and Bradsby began to capitalize on his name recognition with signature model bats in their 1944 catalog. Based upon this timeline, it is safe to assume that our Stan Musial bat dates from 1944 or 1945.

The H&B center brand is in near-pristine condition as is the bat’s original finish from this point, upward toward the handle. Note the Hillerich & Bradsby “60S” catalog number (Chevrons and Diamonds Collection).

It is safe to assume that service-marked bats are game-used by definition though it is impossible to trace them to a specific player (as can be done with major league game-used examples). The service bats in the Chevrons and Diamonds collection are all game-used and are in varying states of condition. While a spotless, near-new condition bat displays incredibly well in a collection, we prefer to preserve the signs of play (ball marks, dings and dents) that serve as reminders of service members’ wartime use. “Game used” to a baseball militaria collector is a common factor within our collections as practically all (marked) uniforms, gloves, bats and other tools of the diamond saw action by veterans.

Slightly longer than many of the standard H&B models (typically 34″), this U.S.N. stamped Musial signature bat is 35-inches (Chevrons and Diamonds Collection).

Our Stan Musical model is made from the darker hickory wood (rather than the typical ash wood) and the knob is stamped 35”, indicating the overall length. The condition of our Musial bat shows some game use and also appears to have been subjected to a restoration attempt. A significant portion of the bat’s finish has been removed through a very light sanding process, predominantly on the barrel. Fortunately, the stamps are still very much intact. The surface of the barrel end is considerably worn, most likely from the bat being stored for years standing on end in continuous contact with a hard surface, perhaps a concrete floor in a basement or garage.

To return our H&B Stan Musial signature model bat to a more original state, surface cleaning followed by a simple coating of linseed oil will provide a consistent appearance across the entire surface of the bat while also providing a measure of preservation and protection from oxidation and decay.

The transition from the barrel to the end – the hickory is smooth with nominal usage marks (Chevrons and Diamonds Collection).

It is evident that someone removed much of the bat’s finish with sanding residue accumulated in the signature and U.S.N. brandings (Chevrons and Diamonds Collection).

Showing some storage wear on the bat’s end, the hickory is a bit chewed-up (Chevrons and Diamonds Collection).

A key function of Chevrons and Diamonds’ mission is to provide an in-person and hands-on educational experience through artifacts. There is nothing more rewarding than seeing the reaction of a youth or elderly veteran when he holds a bat or glove that was used by veterans who served nearly eight decades ago.

Related Chevrons and Diamonds Articles

Vintage Bat

• Ted Williams: BATtered, Abused and Loved – February 7, 2019
• Hard to Find Military Sticks: “Double-X” Joins Our World War II Baseball Lumber Pile – April 9, 2019
• Charlie “King Kong” Keller Rattles the Woodshed ending a Yearlong Silence – May 8, 2020
• Tools of the Trade: Wartime Equipment used by (Former) Professional Ballplayers – July 9, 2020
• Nothing to Write? I Think I’ll Just Restore a Vintage Bat, Instead – June 12, 2018
  • Close to Completion: Restoring a 1950s Ferris Fain Signature Model Bat – July 10, 2018
  • Bat Restoration: New Life for Ferris Fain’s Signature lumber – August 8, 2019

Equipment Fund Raising Events

• A Passion for the Troops: Joe E. Brown’s All Pacific Recreation Fund – October 17, 2019
• Service All-Stars Raising Funds on the Diamond for their Comrades in the Trenches – October 2, 2019

External Resources:

• Inexpensive Store Model Bats with H&B Center Brand – KeyMan Collectibles
• Hillerich & Bradsby H&B Safe Hit Baseball Bat Guide – KeyMan Collectibles

 

 

Bat Restoration: New Life for Ferris Fain’s Signature lumber

When more than a year creeps by before one realizes that a two-part article was left unfinished (with just the initial piece published), it is a commentary on one or more of the following issues: I am aging and my memory is taking a beating; I have too many irons in the fire and my memory is lagging; I am completely disorganized and distracted by too many activities and my memory failing. The reality is that all three are true.

Last July (the one that occurred in 2018), I published an article about restoring a 60+ year old chunk of Louisville lumber that bears the name of one of my favorite ball players and former WWII U.S. Army Air Forces airman, Ferris Fain (see: Close to Completion: Restoring a 1950s Ferris Fain Signature Model Bat). The article in question has been one of Chevrons and Diamonds more popular pieces as it seems that there are many collectors who are seeking to rejuvenate their aging, decaying and damaged vintage bats. Fortunately for me, the condition of the Ferris Fain signature model Louisville Slugger bat wasn’t bad and it was absent any damage.

In the absence of vintage baseball bat restoration manuals or step-by-step guides, I had to tap into the resources available to me. Turning to my bat-collecting colleagues, I gathered tips from those who have touched on certain aspects of revitalizing the wood, slowing progress of wood rot and breathing new life into the black foil brand marks. It was also helpful that I spent time in doing extracurricular work many years ago (in high school) at the invitation of my high school principal to perform some restoration work on several vintage wood administration chairs (I was a very giving person with my advice for certain teachers) over the course of a week at the end of my sophomore year.

The finished restoration project: The Ferris Fain bat is pictured here with an untouched 1953-dated Fain mini bat (a stadium giveaway from June 3rd of that year) giving a color and tone reference point.

Despite removing very little wood material with the steel wool (sanding would have removed the patina and usage markings entirely), the surface of the bat had a fairly fresh appearance once all of the cleaner had dried. Also, my free-hand restoration of the brand (with an ultra-fine black paint pen) looked a little sloppy and too vibrant in places. Since the goal was to retain as much of the original patina and scars, I first took the steel wool over the fresh brands to remove some of the material before applying the linseed oil treatment. I also left the bat to sit untreated for a few months to allow for some oxidation and darkening of the wood before sealing it with the oil, which is where I left off in early July of 2018.

The Hillerich and Bradsby oval brand is very faint due to the typical shallow impressions seen on store model bats. The years of use have worn away the black foil that helped the lettering versus the burned branding seen on pro-model bats) to stand out (Image source: eBay).

(Image source: eBay).

(Image source: eBay).

By winter, the wood of the bat darkened quite a bit. After wiping the bat down with a cloth to remove any dust or particulates that settled onto the surface over the previous several months, I cracked open the linseed oil, soaked a wad of paper towels and began to cover the bat from the bottom, working my way upward towards the handle and knob, leaving the bat saturated with the material. Leaving the bat to stand (vertically, with the handle up) for an hour allowing for the wood grain to absorb the oil. When I returned, I reapplied the oil as before and again left the bat to stand in order to allow for absorption.

Another perspective shows that the colors of the two bats are not that dissimilar. The trapper model first baseman’s mitt is an early 1950s MacGregor signature Ferris Fain model.

After a few days of standing in the garage, the bat’s surface was dry and felt as though it needed to be rubbed out with a terry shop cloth.  Through this process, excess oil was lifted and the bat’s surface responded with a satin shine that enhanced the aged patina. The oil naturally darkened and drew out the wood-grain while providing a true vintage aesthetic to the finished product.

Since completing the Fain bat, I faced a more daunting challenge when a 1940s U.S. Navy stamped Ted Williams endorsed Hillerich & Bradsby bat arrived (see: Ted Williams: BATtered, Abused and Loved). Drawing upon the Fain bat experience, the Williams and subsequent bat restorations have become a fairly simple process.