Stan Musial Bat
 

I am trying to find out if this Stan Musial bat is a store model or a possible gamer. It measures 34 inches and it is cracked. On the knob there is a name with 34¨ but there looks like there was something written in black underneath that. This is a really nice looking bat. Any information would be greatly appreciated.

Did you get that from the former NFL kicker Paul Edinger? :D

Haha that's funny, I didn't even know there was a kicker Paul Edinger.

Even with the name etched into the barrel and etchings on the knob, I would still be interested in this bat if you were wanting to sell it. Send me a message if you at least want to talk.

Looks to date from 1944-48 based on the Powerized(P-6).

That's definitely a game bat, although I haven't been able to check today to see if Musial ordered 34 inch models. I've always thought the early Musial signature bats are much more desirable than the block letter bats he used later. (I have a signature model in my collection).

Greg

He did order a 34 inch in 1943. And the one in 1947 but it's listed as model M117, so probably had model number stamped on the knob.

Thanks guys for the information. I saw the 1947 bat that sold in 2002 Legendary Auction. That bat was 34''. So is this definitely a gamer used by Stan the Man?

Hi Ron,

I'm not sure that you could say with 100% certainty that it was used by Musial. Definitely a pro model bat very likely ordered by Musial for his use.

Since there doesn't appear to be any record of a Paul Edinger in the minor leagues I think it is safe to say that he was one of the previous owners but was not a minor league user of the bat...which is a good thing.

Was the bat used by Musial? I believe it would need to be evaluated by an experienced eye to determine if the use on the bat is of a professional level as well as to examine the bat for other traits of Stan the Man.

Regardless...great bat...rare signature model.

I think it's a index/team ordered based on the center logo. If malts book is correct looks to be from 1944(powerized from 1944-48 but center logo looks like the one used between 1939-44(rounded G). But I could be wrong, I'd trust the other board experts like mghpro, sayhey, bigjj, unvme).

I don't think a true determination could be made without seeing the hand written record for Musial and knowing for certain whether this is the C92 model or the M117. Without that information it is all speculation.

Thanks guys for the information. On the knob, does it look like a 6 was there or is it just me?

Agreed. I also thought it looked like a 6. I would send detailed photos, length, and weight to John Taube and let him help you out. I'm sure he'll be able to tell you immediately whether it is an index bat or a gamer as I would guess he also has access to the Cardinals team index orders and would know whether there were Musial model bats on the index orders in the early 1940s.

Get advice from a TRUE EXPERT before making the call of index bat or gamer.

I'm not so sure about it being an index bat. Could it be? Sure.

To me, it could be a bat(pre-model) used by Musial that was given to a child later on for personal use who engraved their name on the barrel. I have some of these in my collection, unfortunately. I also agree with Tim about the number on the knob. That, along with use and characteristics of the bat can be seen in person much, much better than looking at pics on here.

But yes, send Taube a quick email if you would like a more accurate answer.

Looks like it could also be a 3 or a 6.


Tim,
I'm pretty sure not all team index bats are in th records.

Also do you have a scale and can weigh the bat?

Could This Be Some Wild and Crazy Detective Work?
 

This Stan bat has the name Paul Edinger etched into the barrel around The Man's name. Take a look over on the Postwar Cards & Watercooler Talk under Hockey/Basketball/Tennis Forum. The St. Louis Hawks post by ALR-bishop shows two 1960's Hawks program covers. Look at the ad on the bottom of both for Musial and Biggies Restaurant. They advertise "Entertainment Nightly". Who is featured "at the piano and organ"? It's ART EDINGER!

Is it possible, as ancient alien theorists might say, maybe even probable that Stan laid a few souvenirs on his piano player who in turn gave them to his son or relative (Paul)? Could this bat have been passed on in Musial and Biggie's Restaurant by the very generous Stan himself? Stan was known to often stop by the joint after home games. Possibly, he walked in with this bat in hand.

http://www.net54baseball.com/showthread.php?t=182791

That's pretty interesting and would be a great story if it was a relative. Thank you for sharing that. Does anybody know John Taubes email or the best way to contact him?

jtbats@aol.com

Be sure to send him length, weight, and detailed photos of the bat including close ups of the center label. Good luck!

Thanks Tim, I will contact him either tomorrow or Monday and will let you guys know the outcome.

The Stan Musial GU bat that sold in Goldin Auctions recently had green bat rack streaks on the handle, there are green streaks on mine as well. Not sure if that means anything but I am having John Taube look at it at the Philly show in March.

I never got a response from this mornings message after you asked about what I would offer for this bat. So it's good to know now from your post that you are going to keep it until March. At least we all know that now after you asked what we would pay.

But anyways, I took it upon myself to contact Taube about this bat, and here is his response:

"I just looked at photos of the bat. The bat labels 1946 to 1948. If you refer to Vince Malta's book the bat is branded with a C-13 center brand and has a P-6 Powerized. The C-13 center brand appeared on LVS pro bats between 1946 and 1949 and the P-6 Powerized between 1944 and 1948. Put the two together and you have a bat that dates to 1946-1948.

Reviewing Musial's ordering records there is an order for 12 34 inch M117 models on July 23, 1947. I also noticed there is no model number on the knob of the bat. That's not a problem for a 1947 bat. Model numbers were phased in by LVS over a 5 year period. We have seen several bats dating specifically to 1947 without model numbers. By 1948 all bats had the model number on the knob.

The M117 model is also listed at LVS as the pro stock model for Musial. The fact that the bat is 34' long and not 34.5 inches long adds the possibility of the bat being a pro stock model. Without seeing the bat I can't really offer any opinion to the bat's use by Musial"



That being said, if the bat is in fact 34 inches(I don't know because I didn't get a response yet from my question earlier) then it's not something I would be interested in. Even if it has all the bells and whistles, you have to consider that the next owner will have to get it restored. That new owner will put that into consideration with the final price you will get.

I think john made a mistake. How can that be brand C-13, the G in trade mark reg in C-13 has a square back. But this G looks more rounded like in C-11.

My apologies Nate for not getting back to you. Yes it is a 34 inch bat. I am most likely going to hang onto the bat. Hopefully I will gain more information about the bat in March. Again sorry for not getting back to you.

Also I don't think it's from the July order in 1947 considering several other bats from that order have sold at auction and they all had the model number on the knob. I doubt they would mark some with M117 and not others.

Well the Philly show was a couple weeks ago what was the verdict. Thanks for posting interesting bat.
J

Correction. 8 years ago. ;)

Thanks Jim ..
I posted to a Hawks thread on the postwar page and this thread was mentioned. After 8 years a member posted a finished Photo/ autographed sheet project. ( That was very nice). So maybe after 8 years this thread will get some closure as well.

Got sucked into this old thread too. Looks like Art's middle name started with a P and he had a grandkid named Paul. Jerry G was onto something I think. :D

https://www.dignitymemorial.com/obit...dinger-7798847

I know, I read through the thread and it wasn't until your post I realized it's age. I'm disappointed we have a cliffhanger!

BTW, I have bumped one of my BST posts that was 9 yrs old. I forgot about it after it fell off the first page, lol.

Jon, John Taube authenticated it as a Pro Stock. Not sure that I agree with that since he did place an order for these bats during the time period of this bat. All of the other 34 inch Musial bats from this time period were authenticated as Pro Model bats. It's still pretty cool though that there could be a connection within the Edinger family.

Thank you,
Ron