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Robert PlancichScott - I agree with you to some extent. At this time I would have to say that there is evidence for both sides of the arguement. However, since there exists this "reasonable doubt" then why was a LOA issued at all on this particular bat. Dave Bushing has been billed as the "world's foremost expert", these are the questions and issues that some one of his expertise should be answering and/or addressing before he issues a LOA and certainly after the LOA has been issued. What does it say about him, his knowledge and SCDA when he and Troy Kinunen absolutely refuse to answer any questions on an item that they have claimed to authentic and game-used by Ty Cobb? What about the collector that purchased this bat? More importantly, what does their attitude and behavior regarding questions raised about this bat say about all the other bats that they have authenticated?
I have been going through some past auction catalogs from various auction houses and Dave Bushing & Dan Knoll have authenticated batting gloves, baseball gloves, jerseys, uniforms (baseball/football), football helmuts, warmup jackets, baseball cleats, baseball caps, bats from every manufacturer, hockey sticks, etc., - one would have to assume that these two individuals have a tremendous amount of knowledge in order to be able to authenticate such a wide varity of items from the various major sports. It would seem to me that they could answer these rather simple questions right off the top of their head if what has been written about them is true.
I have a book written by Dave Bushing titled "Sports Equipment" and on the back cover it states that "Dave Bushing is considered to be one of the leading pricing authorities on vintage sports equipment. He has authored several books, including two on baseball gloves, and one on evaluating and storing bats. He also co-authored a book on Spalding bats 1908-'38. His company, Vintage Sports Equipment, has supplied props for movies such as 'A League of their Own', 'Rookie of the Year' and most recently 'Cobb'. He also writes the Q & A column for several leading sports collectibles magazines." He certainly has all of the credentials for an "expert" and judging from this "bio" it appears he knows quite a bit about Cobb, or at least the movie. I just don't get it - why is he so afraid to answer these questions. What has he got to hide - I know what he has to lose!