This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 7/10/2021
In a time before the designated hitter became a staple in the American League, the Chairman was far from helpless in the batters box and even went yard three times during his Hall of Fame career. Every collector is well aware that pitchers' bats are extraordinarily rare-in fact, Louisville Slugger ordering records tell us that only twenty-eight were shipped to this pinstriped ace during his sixteen seasons of Major League service.
This may well be the finest of whatever small number still exists, delivered for use in one of the most dramatic World Series in history. Though Bill Mazeroski's Game Seven walk-off is properly counted among the most painful moments the franchise has suffered, Ford was brilliant in his two starts, pitching eighteen scoreless innings. Tragically, they came when the Yanks needed them least, in a ten-to-nothing victory in Game Three and a twelve-to-nothing victory in Game Six.
While Ford has personally notated the Hillerich & Bradsby M110-the format favored by his best buddy Mickey Mantle-to read, "My game used bat in the 1960 W.S." above his bold blue sharpie signature, the experts at PSA/DNA have declined to state definitively that any apparent wear on the bat is attributable to game use, thus the lot title as listed. An included signed letter from Ford likewise claims game use in that World Series, and we have no doubt that was Ford's authentic recollection, but that letter was written over four decades after the fact. We will never be able to determine with certainty whether or not Ford took it to the plate that fateful October.
At just over thirty-four inches (34.25") in length and just under thirty-two ounces (31.6 oz.) in weight, the lumber perfectly matches Ford's standard specs, and it's a beautiful showpiece and a name absent from even the finest of Yankee bat collections. Comes with a Letter of provenance from Whitey Ford, a PSA LOA for Use or Issuance, and a full LOA from Beckett for the autograph.