This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 12/2/2012
With a disposition that earned him the nickname "Sunny Jim," James Leroy Bottomley became the first league Most Valuable Player to emerge from a team's own farm system. Bottomley played over 1,800 games at first base and held a lifetime batting average of .310 with nine .300-plus seasons during his 16-year career. In 1928, Bottomley led the National League in home runs and RBIs and captured the Most Valuable Player Award, while leading the St. Louis Cardinals to the World Series, one of four Fall Classics in which he would play.
This rare Jim Bottomley Louisville Slugger 125 professional model game used bat measures 35 inches long and weighs 34.75 ounces. The bat shows excellent use including ball marks and rack marks. The handle had a minor crack which has been professionally repaired. Trademark and signature stampings remain very bold including its "Powerized and Oil Tempered" stamping which date exclusively to 1933. This bat was purportedly discovered in a Cincinnati area estate, and said to have been given to the original owner by Bottomley himself during a game at Crosley Field. The specific date stamping is in line with being used within the three year time period (1933-1935) in which Bottomley played for the Cincinnati Reds. Scarce pre-war HOF game bat with outstanding features.
Includes a LOA from John Taube of PSA/DNA (Graded GU8).