Auction Item Details
Lot 1123
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Lot Number: 1123
Description: Rare "Shoeless" Joe Jackson professional model baseball bat c.1921-24. Louisville Slugger 125 model bat measures 36" long and weighs 39oz. with pronounced two tone finish in the manner of Joe Jackson's style of bat. "Jackson" name is stamped in script on the barrel end remaining very bold and legible, and "36" is stamped on the knob end denoting bat length. The bat exhibits evident usage incl. barrel wear, cleat marks, and appropriate light grain swelling. Originally obtained from Jackson by Mr. William H. Kirk in Houston, Texas during the early 1920s at a Houston area stadium where Jackson appeared in a barnstorming game. Mr. Kirk was an electrician conducting some work at the stadium and took the time to admire Jackson's hitting skills. Kirk approached Jackson and was presented with the bat, about which Jackson remarked, "...that is my name on the barrel" in reference to the "Jackson" script stampings. The bat was kept by Mr. Kirk until the early 1970s when it was gifted to his grandson, William H. Kirk, III. At the time, the younger Kirk was actively involved in high school baseball and was given the bat by his grandfather, who recounted the aforementioned story along with the fact that the player who had given him the bat had been banned from Major League Baseball at the time. Although rare, Joe Jackson game used barnstorming professional model bats do surface, but they are almost never accompanied by direct provenance as to the actual usage by Jackson. Very fine exemplar of a classic Jackson barnstorming bat with impeccable provenance. Includes LOA from MEARS/David Bushing, LOA from Hunt Auctions,Inc., and a notarized letter of provenance from William H. Kirk, III: EX
Estimated Price: ($15,000.00-$20,000.00)
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