[Rob D.]

My favorite piece of non-Indians memorabilia is a (cracked) bat that Willie used in the 1965 World Series.

The then-husband of a family friend was a photographer for one of the Pittsburgh papers, and he shot just about every World Series during the 1950s and '60s. His wife (our friend) ran film for him during the games. During one of the games in the '65 Series, she was waiting for her husband to finish a roll and Willie was at bat. He popped up, cracking his bat, and in disgust flung his bat. Apparently with extra gusto, because it rolled all the way over to where our friend was standing. She simply picked it up and placed it behind her. No one noticed, and she kept it for many years until giving it to me when I was in middle school back in the late 1970s.

Even though the bat doesn't have any of the World Series markings, the provenance is priceless to me.