Nobody was more dedicated to the art of putting bat on ball than Ted Williams, a human hitting machine equipped with near-perfect eyesight, lightning reflexes, powerful forearms and unnerving patience. The "Splendid Splinter" also came with a heavy dose of self-confidence, the most conspicuous traits of a baseball maverick who terrorized American League pitchers from 1939-60. If Williams wasn't the greatest pure hitter of all time, an acclaim which he fervently sought, he certainly was of his era. But the self-discipline that so defined Williams the hitter often was lost on Williams the man. His feud with the media might have cost him three MVP awards—in 1941 when he posted baseball's last .400 average (.406) but lost out to New York's Joe DiMaggio; in 1942 and '47 when he won two Triple Crowns but lost out in voting to Yankees Joe Gordon and DiMaggio. The Williams bottom line still is filled with superlatives—two MVPs, six batting crowns, 2,654 hits, a .344 average, 521 home runs, four homer titles and five RBI crowns—numbers that could have been considerably higher if he had not lost four prime seasons to military service during World War II and the Korean War.
The presented signature model Hillerich & Bradsby W166 was Williams' preferred model throughout the first half of the 1950's, the "W" in the model tag referring to his own last name. The length is an even thirty-five inches (35"). The current weight is just under thirty-five ounces (34.7 oz.), though it's likely it weighed slightly less in Williams' hands as he was known to bake his bats daily in the clubhouse clothes dryer to increase the spring of the ball off the barrel. Ball marks coat the right barrel, with the effect of some separation of the wood grain, each typical traits for Williams' left-handed power. Cleat marks pepper the wood as well, and a faded vintage number "9" is barely discernible upon the knob. Crack at knob and handle is professionally repaired. The PSA/DNA letter of authenticity characterizes game use as "heavy." With a perfect score of 5 for matching ordering records, and a perfect 3 for use, the presented bat earns a rating of GU8 from PSA/DNA. A superlative artifact from man may refer to as “the greatest hitter who ever lived.” LOA from John Taube of PSA/DNA (GU8).