George Herman Ruth was an American original, baseball’s quintessential slugger and the most celebrated athlete of all time. He was the prototype of the modern superstar whose unparalleled feats on the diamond were only equaled in magnitude by his gargantuan appetite for life off it. Ruth’s natural talent and boundless charisma made him a tremendous drawing card throughout the league and, not surprisingly, the highest-paid player of his generation. He was the first to hit 30, 40, 50, and 60 home runs in a season, and his slugging style forever changed the way baseball was played. Acquiring a bat once wielded by the Sultan of Swat is a milestone achievement for any collector.
Presented here is a magnificent Babe Ruth game-used bat dating to the 1922-25 era when the Great Bambino was in his late 20’s and in the prime of his career, both on and off the field. In that four-year span, The Babe batted .351 with 147 homers, 417 RBI and 449 runs scored for the New York Yankees, with a mind-boggling 1.176 OPS. His banner year was 1923 when he won his only AL MVP award and helped lead the storied franchise to its first World Series title.
Although it predates the Hillerich & Bradsby labeling period, this Babe Ruth professional model factory side written bat can be tracked to one of his personal 'R2' model orders, according to H&B records. Weighing 37.6 oz. and measuring 35” in length, the ash bat shows excellent evidence of use with a repaired handle crack and a tiny chip on the knob. A plethora of ball marks cover the barrel along with some scattered cleat marks. The left barrel exhibits signs of scoring – a common Ruth characteristic above his branded name – as well as light planing to allow for the factory side writing, which has mostly worn off from age.
The bat retains outstanding display quality and endures as a glorious monument to The Great Bambino. PSA/DNA’s renowned bat expert, John Taube, has given this museum-worthy relic an overall grade of GU 8.5 and notes the common 2-4 oz. drop in weight over time for century-old lumber. Includes LOA from PSA/DNA (GU 8.5).