Gabby Hartnett, Lou Gehrig Bats

[todeen]

Originally Posted by Tightlines

Some more shots of it:

If I was in an antique store, and I saw a bat marked with "type of bat used by Lou Gehrig," I would assume it is a store model bat. I am not a bat collector, but I would be suspicious of that. Hopefully someone else knows more information.

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[Tightlines]

Originally Posted by todeen

If I was in an antique store, and I saw a bat marked with "type of bat used by Lou Gehrig," I would assume it is a store model bat. I am not a bat collector, but I would be suspicious of that. Hopefully someone else knows more information.

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Yeah I have only found a few things, but this is interesting. Taken from this auction Here
"
Presently, there is no evidence to suggest that Zinn Beck bats (his was a small company) were ever available for sale to the general public (no known advertisements, catalogs, etc.). All of the existing side-written Zinn Beck bats match the precise specifications of other known game bats used by that respective player. That fact strongly suggests that all Zinn Beck bats were made exclusively by custom order for professional use only by the given player. "

[Mark]

Originally Posted by Tightlines

Yeah I have only found a few things, but this is interesting. Taken from this auction Here
"
Presently, there is no evidence to suggest that Zinn Beck bats (his was a small company) were ever available for sale to the general public (no known advertisements, catalogs, etc.). All of the existing side-written Zinn Beck bats match the precise specifications of other known game bats used by that respective player. That fact strongly suggests that all Zinn Beck bats were made exclusively by custom order for professional use only by the given player. "

If I remember correctly, at one point MEARS concluded that a number of Zinn Beck Diamond Ace bats were pro-models/ game used. Troy Kinunen wrote an article about them on the MEARS site about 15 years ago. Has PSA/DNA also been designating these bats as pro-model?

[yanks12025]

Originally Posted by Mark

If I remember correctly, at one point MEARS concluded that a number of Zinn Beck Diamond Ace bats were pro-models/ game used. Troy Kinunen wrote an article about them on the MEARS site about 15 years ago. Has PSA/DNA also been designating these bats as pro-model?

I dont think Taube considers them pro models(couldn't find one online that showed a PSA letter). If he does, he'd probably mention in the letter that they might be offered to both the public and pros and that game use by the X player cannot be confirmed. Thats why people send these type of bats to Mears because they will get lettered as game used.

[bgar3]

I am not a bat guy and I may be wrong about this, but I think I remember a Love of the Game auction of a Zinn Gehrig that they had researched and proved had been used by Gehrig. Worth looking up or contacting Love of the Game directly.

[sayhey24]

I think there's a chance that some Zinn Beck bats were used by players, but without iron clad provenance or a photo match, they generally aren't considered game used bats.

Included here is a photo of three Zinn Beck bats I have.
One is a Tris Speaker similar to the Gehrig model. The second bat is a " type of bat used by" Heinie Groh model that was sold by the Johnny Evers Sporting Goods store in Albany, NY , and is marked as such on the barrel.
The third is a post career Zinn Beck H&B model (Beck played in the major leagues) that he for some reason dated 1929. I have a photo of him in his home holding this very bat.

The Gehrig bat sold by Love of the Game was a Hanna Batrite, not a Zinn Beck.


With all that said, the Lou Gehrig bat shown in this thread is an incredibly nice bat that should command a price similar to the aforementioned Ty Cobb. And I still think that the Gabby Hartnett is very likely a gamer as long as there is no sign of an inch mark on the knob.

Great finds by you and your friend!

Greg

[yanks12025]

Originally Posted by sayhey24

I think there's a chance that some Zinn Beck bats were used by players, but without iron clad provenance or a photo match, they generally aren't considered game used bats.

Included here is a photo of three Zinn Beck bats I have.
One is a Tris Speaker similar to the Gehrig model. The second bat is a " type of bat used by" Heinie Groh model that was sold by the Johnny Evers Sporting Goods store in Albany, NY , and is marked as such on the barrel.
The third is a post career Zinn Beck H&B model (Beck played in the major leagues) that he for some reason dated 1929. I have a photo of him in his home holding this very bat.

The Gehrig bat sold by Love of the Game was a Hanna Batrite, not a Zinn Beck.


With all that said, the Lou Gehrig bat shown in this thread is an incredibly nice bat that should command a price similar to the aforementioned Ty Cobb. And I still think that the Gabby Hartnett is very likely a gamer as long as there is no sign of an inch mark on the knob.

Great finds by you and your friend!

Greg

The Hartnett is 100% a gamer but Gabby didnt write the 34 on the knob. So it probably saw post professional use.

[todeen]

Originally Posted by yanks12025

I dont think Taube considers them pro models(couldn't find one online that showed a PSA letter). If he does, he'd probably mention in the letter that they might be offered to both the public and pros and that game use by the X player cannot be confirmed. Thats why people send these type of bats to Mears because they will get lettered as game used.

I'm still learning a lot about bats. Who is Taube?

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[Tightlines]

Thank you all for your super helpful answers!

I just spoke with the gent that I got the bats from. He said he can't remember where the Gehrig came from, but he remembered exactly where he got the Hartnett from. He bought it when Gabby's cocktail lounge/bowling alley closed in Chicago. It was part of the decor in there. I'm not sure what this does for the value of the bat, but it may be in pictures if any exist from that lounge.

[JoeDfan]

Originally Posted by todeen

I'm still learning a lot about bats. Who is Taube?

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John Taube is the principal bat authenticator for PSA, along with Vince Malta.

Troy Kuninen is the authenticator for MEARS.

Those are the primary guys who come to my mind when thinking about expertise in bats, although there were a couple of other guys (Mediema? Bushing? Byington) who do it also, or at least used to, I think.

[Tightlines]

Since this bat was bought from his rec center/ lounge/ pistol range I did some digging, and this book has some pretty interesting notes from that time in his life.
Tracking down someone who used to frequent the establishment before it closed may not be out of the question. Any Chicagoans out there ?

[JoeDfan]

Originally Posted by yanks12025

I dont think Taube considers them pro models(couldn't find one online that showed a PSA letter). If he does, he'd probably mention in the letter that they might be offered to both the public and pros and that game use by the X player cannot be confirmed. Thats why people send these type of bats to Mears because they will get lettered as game used.

I have a couple of bats with Mears letters, and they actually do say the bat was considered both pro and retail, etc. In both cases, the narrative on the letters appeared to be pretty accurate.

[Tightlines]

I thought I would post an update on the Hartnett bat.
It ended up grading GU 9.
Thanks to all of you for your help and suggestions on these bats! I have the LOA on the Hartnett now as well if anyone is interested.

[eastonfalcon19]

If you don't mind sharing the LOA. I would like to see what it says. Congratulations on the bat and grading a 9.

[todeen]

Originally Posted by Tightlines

Yeah I have only found a few things, but this is interesting. Taken from this auction Here

"

Presently, there is no evidence to suggest that Zinn Beck bats (his was a small company) were ever available for sale to the general public (no known advertisements, catalogs, etc.). All of the existing side-written Zinn Beck bats match the precise specifications of other known game bats used by that respective player. That fact strongly suggests that all Zinn Beck bats were made exclusively by custom order for professional use only by the given player. "

Great sleuthing! That would be very exciting if it was a pro model!

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