Bat Question: 60's or 70's?

[harpt]

I don't have Malta's new book yet, but I use the old MastroNet book by Bushing and Knoll.

According to this book, the bat below should be pre-1969 because in '69 the bottom of "P" in "Powerized" crosses over the vertical line.

However, the registered trademark insignia was not added to the "d" in "Powerized" until 1973.

In other words...according to this book anyway...this bat could not be older than 1968, nor younger than 1973. Can anyone shed some light on this for me?

[MSpecht]

Hi Scott--

The first thing to remember is that the previous reference works pertaining to bat labeling (H & B at least), have now become outdated except in a general sense, including BATS (1995) and MastroNet Guide (2001.) Here is exactly what Vince Malta's book now gives collectors in the area of H & B labeling: (reprinted from an earlier review):

In Chapter Three,. ILLUSTRATED BRANDING VARIATIONS devotes 30 pages to the most comprehensive and thoroughly researched illustrated analysis of H & B branding ever undertaken. No longer will collectors have to be content with broad statements of labeling periods when attempting to determine the manufacture date of a bat being considered for his collection.

In this chapter, Malta has not only identified twenty-three distinct center label brandings between the late 1890’s and 2006, but includes twenty-one additional variations of those brandings, which brings the center label variations alone to forty-four distinct brandings, each of which can be used to pinpoint the date of manufacture to a degree of specificity never before attained.

As an example, the somewhat “catch all” labeling period often identified as 1921 to 1931 is now broken intro eleven distinct brandings that appeared between 1922 and 1933, each of which is found within a contained time frame.

Take another problematic labeling period, 1950 to 1960. Additional identified variations such as six center brand defects found during that period, along with different fonts and three distinct versions of “Powerized” (of the twenty-three different versions of “Powerized” identified between 1931 and 2006) all help in the specification of the year of manufacture within what, to date, has been a broad period.

Basically, what this means is that now there are several specific areas of a bat that need to be considered when dating a bat as closely as possible to a date of manufacture. Using the bat you pictured as an example, the centerbrand is designated as C-20 -- characterized by a large (larger than earlier ones) registration trademark symbol within the center oval. This centerbrand can be found between 1969 and 1979.

Using that broad range as a starting point, the version of POWERIZED you picture is known as P-12, which may be fopund on bats manufactured between 1973 to 2006. (Note that prior to the introduction of P-12, the C-20 centerbrand is found with earlier versions of POWERIZED, notably P-10 from 1969-72, and P-11 from 1970-72.)

Thus, the period of manufacture where the combination of centerbrand C-20 (1969-79) and POWERIZED version P-12 (1973-2006) may be found is between 1973 and 1979. However, the barrel branding reduced that period as it was changed in 1976 to place the model number on the barrel from its previous location on the knob.

Thus, with the bat pictured in your post, if the model number is stamped into the knob, the bat was manufactured between 1973-1975 (Barrel Branding/ Barrel Stamping BB/BS-6; 1959 to 1975)...../If the model number appears on the barrel (BB/BS-7: 1976 to to 1986) it was manufactured between 1977-1979.

Good Luck in future collecting. Remember, this book is available exclusively on-line at Game Used Universe, either as a straight purchase or as a part of a premium membership at a greatly reduced price.

Mike Jackitout7@aol.com (Jackitout7@aol.com)

[BoneRubbedBat]

It is a 1973-75 era. The shape of the P doesn't really matter after the "R" was added to Powerized.

[harpt]

Sorry guys. I left out a hugely important piece of info.

The model number is on the barrell...so it has to be 77-79. Just a brain cramp on my part.

Thank you for the responses.

[MSpecht]

Scott---
So who is the player attached to this bat ??
Mike

[harpt]

Gorman Thomas of the Brewers. It's a current ebay item that is something of a riddle.

It has #3 on the knob. Gorman last wore that number for the Brewers in '76. He was in the minors in '77 (don't know what number he wore there) and wore #20 for the Brewers in '78 and '79.

[MSpecht]

This is pretty much the fun part of this hobby -- trying to figure things like this out and make a reasonable conclusion as to a probable sequence of events...here's a guess as to this bat:

Gorman Thomas wore # 44 during his first two seasons with the Brewers in 1973 and 1974. In November, 1974 the Brewers traded for Hank Aaron and Thomas immediately lost his number. Thomas then wore # 3 in 1975 and 1976.

It is reasonable to conclude that Thomas also wore # 3 in Spring Training of 1977. At the end of Spring Training he was sent down to the Brewers' Triple A team in Spokane for the entire 1977 season. No one else on the big club wore # 3 in 1977 until Ed Kirkpatrick arrived via a trade with the Rangers in late August and was given # 3. In a quirky twist, it was Gorman Thomas who was "the player to be named later" in that Rangers trade and he was sent to Texas on October 25, 1977. The Brewers must not have liked that deal as they purchased Thomas back from the Rangers in February, 1978. He began wearing # 20 in 1978, and continued with that number for the rest of his career.

So, given that the manufacture period of the subject bat is 1977 - 1979, it seems likely that the bat was used by Gorman Thomas in Spring Training, 1977. It may have also followed him to Spokane during the 1977 season, or possibly even been ordered by him while at Spokane (additional research would tell what number he wore in Spokane-- if he didn't wear # 3, the bat likely was not used there or it would probably have a second number written over the 3 on the knob.) To add one more slight possibility, it has been reported that some 1976 bats were labeled without the Bicentennial logo and appear identical to 1977-1979 bats with the model number on the barrel branding.

With the above information, it is your call as to what seems the most probable scenario. My inclination would be that it was used in Spring Training, 1977. If research shows that Thomas also wore # 3 in Spokane during the 1977 season, that possibility becomes just as likely, in the absence of Thomas' H & B factory records.

Two good references for pretty complete Spring Training rosters (with uniform numbers) are the annual Street and Smith Baseball Yearbooks, and the Feb or March Spring Training issues of Baseball Digest. Individual teams' Spring Media Guides are also very useful in that regard.

Finally, one great quote from Gorman Thomas :

"The fans come to see me strike out, hit a home run, or run into a fence. I try to accomodate them at least one way every game."

Mike Jackitout7@aol.com

[harpt]

Great info Mike, than you.

You are absolutely right; this IS one of the really fun parts of this hobby