Vintage bat help

[thxforthebp]

Picked this up some time ago, measures 27in hand turned with lathe marks on ends very knob of the bat is very similar to a townball bat that I have. Hunts auctions have some townball bats that have sold that look pretty similar is size and shape. Is this a townball or possibly rounders bat?

[perezfan]

The handle/knob and overall size are all quite similar, and are positive factors. A determining key is whether the barrel of the bat is flattened or round. I believe the true Townball bats had a flattening of the barrel on two sides. The two examples I have owned both have this feature.

Yours looks more round, but may still qualify, as the age looks very close to that period. Often, Townball bats were crudely painted in similar fashion to yours as well, so it will be interesting to hear what others have to say. It may indeed qualify...

[D. Broughman]

Here is a picture from the Smithsonian Baseball book that shows a bat like yours and the bat below has the flat sides as Perezfan stated. The first bat is a Massachusetts-style bat. I am not a bat expert by any means but thought you might like to see the picture. There are members on here that help me identify my Railroad bat so I am sure someone will chime in. D.