June Pickups

[bat_master]

I didn't see a thread started for June pickups so I figured I would start this one off not with a bang...more of an explosion.

1932 H&B Jimmie Foxx

Heavily used Jimmie Foxx bat from the 1932 season. Bat was returned to the H&B factory for duplication as evidenced by the side writing on the left barrel. Thankfully for me (financially) it wasn't returned by Foxx, but was returned by his teammate, backup catcher Johnny Heving, on June 9, 1932.

That year (1932) was significant to Foxx as it was one of his best seasons statistically (151 runs scored, 213 hits, 33 doubles, 9 triples, 58 HRs, 169 RBI, and .364 average). He won his first of three American League MVP Awards and missed winning the TRIPLE CROWN by a mere 3 points. The player who won the batting title (Dale Alexander of the Red Sox) hit .367, but in 454 plate appearances. Under current rules he would not have won the batting title and the TC would have belonged to Foxx, who did win it the following season in 1933 (.356/48/163) and also repeated as AL MVP.

[UnVme7]

Really nice bat, Tim! His bats aren't easy to get your hands on, and if you are lucky enough to, it will cost ya! It being sidewritten is a nice touch as well. Great eye appeal overall.

Good to see a post of some gamers around here too! Mine were starting to get a little lonely the last few months!

[MGHPro]

Great looking bat - congrats .

[GKreindler]

KILLER bat, Tim. Bravo!

Graig

[doug.goodman]

I don't collect bats, but THAT is a cool bat.

Congrats.

Doug

[daves_resale_shop]

A Beast of a pickup!!!

congratulations!

[WillowGrove]

Originally Posted by doug.goodman

I don't collect bats, but THAT is a cool bat.

Congrats.

Doug

+1. Congrats on your pick up. What a piece of lumber!

[Bugsy]

Just BEAUTIFUL, Tim! One of the nicest bats I've ever seen.

[bobfreedman]

I just got this in the mail last week and it looks better in real life and that is hard to believe. Thanks Greg, you do awesome work and I am proud to own this. I also own the photo and card, not sure if I want to do a combo of the three but it is neat to own all three of them

[UnVme7]

Great painting, Bob. He does some amazing work.

[Runscott]

Originally Posted by bobfreedman

I just got this in the mail last week and it looks better in real life and that is hard to believe. Thanks Greg, you do awesome work and I am proud to own this. I also on the photo and card, not sure if I want to do a combo of the three but it is neat to own all three of them

Beautiful choice, Bob.

[bat_master]

Thanks everyone for the kind words about the Foxx bat. I'm just glad it is finally home! You see, this bat has a bit of a back story to it. Get ready for a soul baring tale with details so fuzzy with the passage of time that I had to go back through emails just to get the timeline correct.

This story starts in July of 2009 with a completely random phone call that I received from the owner of the bat. I was still living in Minnesota and was still married to who is now my ex-wife. A lot has changed since then.

The owner called me and said that he had a bat that said 'Jimmie Foxx' on it. Being somewhat skeptical due to the rare nature of Foxx bats, I asked him what was in the center label; whether it was 125 or something else, like 40JF. He responded that it had a 125. I next asked him if there was anything stamped into the knob. He said no...not that he could see. He also mentioned that there was some writing on the barrel that looked like possibly crayon.

At that point, if I remember right I told him that this was potentially a pretty valuable bat that and that I would really like to have him send me some photos. He did, and after examining the pictures I was able to tell that this was a 1932 Jimmie Foxx made of hickory wood which was correct for the majority of his orders that year. Unfortunately, while the side written date and team name were visible the name was not. However, the date was not listed in Foxx's records so I was pretty confident that it was most likely not returned to the factory by Foxx. At the time, I was in no position to buy it or even make an offer and even though he isn't in the hobby, he was content to enjoy it for awhile. In retrospect this was a good thing as just a month later I was in the middle of a divorce.

Looking back through my emails I see we exchanged 8 messages in 2009 and just 3 in 2010. The first of those messages in 2010 was a patient inquiry to see if he still had it and to let him know that if he was ready to sell at some point...I was interested in buying.

Fast forward to January 2011...I contacted him again with another patient inquiry and this time he informed me that he was expecting the birth of his first child and that, as life changes happen, this might be a good time to sell. We discussed the bat at length and eventually I made him an offer. It wasn't cheap, but for what it was, I thought it was pretty reasonable. I sent him a down payment on it that September.

Fast forward to 2013...2 years of just the occasional email letting him know that I was still around. During that time, I bought a house and was married again. Both costly endeavors.

Fast forward to February 2014...I found out that I'm going to be a father. I had a good friend of mine (who has kids already) stress to me the importance of getting this deal done. I'm glad he did. It's ironic that the life changing event that caused the owner to finally sell was the same event that caused me to buy.

Throughout the spring of 2014 I made some deals and was able to raise the majority of the remaining balance. He agreed that after that was paid he would send me the bat for examination and I could pay off the last couple thousand dollars over time. Well worth it and I'm glad he had the patience to stick with me.

My daughter will be here in October. If we can't come up with a middle name I may slyly suggest "Foxx".

[RelicSports]

Awesome story and a GREAT bat! Congratulations on the bat and your impending arrival!

[Bugsy]

Originally Posted by bat_master

Thanks everyone for the kind words about the Foxx bat. I'm just glad it is finally home! You see, this bat has a bit of a back story to it. Get ready for a soul baring tale with details so fuzzy with the passage of time that I had to go back through emails just to get the timeline correct.

This story starts in July of 2009 with a completely random phone call that I received from the owner of the bat. I was still living in Minnesota and was still married to who is now my ex-wife. A lot has changed since then.

The owner called me and said that he had a bat that said 'Jimmie Foxx' on it. Being somewhat skeptical due to the rare nature of Foxx bats, I asked him what was in the center label; whether it was 125 or something else, like 40JF. He responded that it had a 125. I next asked him if there was anything stamped into the knob. He said no...not that he could see. He also mentioned that there was some writing on the barrel that looked like possibly crayon.

At that point, if I remember right I told him that this was potentially a pretty valuable bat that and that I would really like to have him send me some photos. He did, and after examining the pictures I was able to tell that this was a 1932 Jimmie Foxx made of hickory wood which was correct for the majority of his orders that year. Unfortunately, while the side written date and team name were visible the name was not. However, the date was not listed in Foxx's records so I was pretty confident that it was most likely not returned to the factory by Foxx. At the time, I was in no position to buy it or even make an offer and even though he isn't in the hobby, he was content to enjoy it for awhile. In retrospect this was a good thing as just a month later I was in the middle of a divorce.

Looking back through my emails I see we exchanged 8 messages in 2009 and just 3 in 2010. The first of those messages in 2010 was a patient inquiry to see if he still had it and to let him know that if he was ready to sell at some point...I was interested in buying.

Fast forward to January 2011...I contacted him again with another patient inquiry and this time he informed me that he was expecting the birth of his first child and that, as life changes happen, this might be a good time to sell. We discussed the bat at length and eventually I made him an offer. It wasn't cheap, but for what it was, I thought it was pretty reasonable. I sent him a down payment on it that September.

Fast forward to 2013...2 years of just the occasional email letting him know that I was still around. During that time, I bought a house and was married again. Both costly endeavors.

Fast forward to February 2014...I found out that I'm going to be a father. I had a good friend of mine (who has kids already) stress to me the importance of getting this deal done. I'm glad he did. It's ironic that the life changing event that caused the owner to finally sell was the same event that caused me to buy.

Throughout the spring of 2014 I made some deals and was able to raise the majority of the remaining balance. He agreed that after that was paid he would send me the bat for examination and I could pay off the last couple thousand dollars over time. Well worth it and I'm glad he had the patience to stick with me.

My daughter will be here in October. If we can't come up with a middle name I may slyly suggest "Foxx".

Fantastic story, Tim! The bat certainly ended up with the right person. It will always be a particularly special bat for you. Most importantly, of course, congratulations on the baby! I'm really happy for you. Come this fall, you will probably be on here more often since you won't be able to get out of the house as much :-)

Chris

[ksfarmboy]

Great bat and story Tim!

[mjkm90]

I love this set and was pleased to add this example last night on the bay

[btcarfagno]

Just added these:

1913 World Series image on paper stock. Measures 11x14. Anyone else seen one or know the origins?



Won in the Ninth book (not signed...although I do not believe the authenticity of the "signed" ones anyway) and Pitching in a Pinch pamphlet.



Tom C