Question about Malta's Guide to Louisville Slugger Bats”

[Mark]

Rare book question: in the players' bat chart section, some of the older entries read as this one does:

Bresnahan, Roger....
....
.....
File card: His Old Bresnahan 5/20/1911; Model B69, 34"; caliper only

Me: I'm wondering what the phrase "caliper only" means in this context. Any guidance would be appreciated.

[bat_master]

I could be wrong, but I believe it may mean that they have on file the caliper measurements of his ordered model. These would be caliper measurements taken at different points along the bat since at that time there weren't set models like K55, M110, C243, etc.

This may mean that there are no actual ordering records available, only the tool room drawings that listed the caliper measurements of the model, along with a length.

[Mark]

Originally Posted by bat_master

I could be wrong, but I believe it may mean that they have on file the caliper measurements of his ordered model. These would be caliper measurements taken at different points along the bat since at that time there weren't set models like K55, M110, C243, etc.

This may mean that there are no actual ordering records available, only the tool room drawings that listed the caliper measurements of the model, along with a length.

Tim, that sounds like a very reasonable explanation. Maybe, in the 1st decade of the 20th century, H&B got the bats, took the measurements by caliper, and then returned the bats to their owners? In any case, they would have kept two separate sets of shipping records, the one set that is reproduced in the Malta book and the other, a detailed set of caliper measurements for each player.