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View Full Version : 1976 Claudell Washington Oakland A’s Game-Used Bicentennial Liberty Bell Bat – error labeling as “Washignton”



rffan34
04-17-2009, 03:30 PM
For Sale or Trade: 1976 Claudell Washington Oakland A’s Game-Used Bicentennial Liberty Bell Bat – error labeling as “Washignton”
$350 or best offer, or, considering trades for unusual Rollie Fingers items (including trade credit against your more valuable item).

Email andrewljones@gmail.com directly, or send me a private message here on the forums.

Description:
This H176 Louisville Slugger was used by Claudell Washington, despite its mislabeling as “Washignton,” in the 1976 season, as denoted by the Bicentennial stamping.

The bat shows tremendous, beautiful wear, with a crack (not visible when displayed to show name) about 13.5” above the knob, and runs approximately 3” long. The crack is not fragile, but definitely rendered the bat unusable.

The bat is taped, which has darkened over time, especially near the top of the taping, where I would presume Washington might have used pine tar.

Cleat marks display at the end of the barrel, with an area of rubbing through the finish just to the right of the Bicentennial stamp (perhaps these are rack marks).

I don’t have an exact weight for this bat (not being near a digital scale) but could get one for a serious buyer. Suffice it to say, this bat is an absolute club – extremely heavy – though it has the interesting narrow knob that not many players use any more.

Documentation/Authenticity:
Dating this bat to 1976 is very easy (the one-year Liberty Bell stamp) and this bat was for Claudell Washington because a review of the MLB roster, every player throughout history shows no other Washington playing in the majors in 1976 (this can be confirmed here: http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/w/

To eliminate the other possibilities: Herb Washington (Oakland’s special pinch runner) was gone after 1975, but wouldn’t have used a huge bat like this anyway, since he literally never took an at-bat. Ron and U.L. Washington didn’t appear until 1977, and LaRue Washington until 1978. Process of elimination (and characteristics which I’ll discuss immediately below) all place this in the hands of Claudell Washington.

The huge size and weight of this bat is also consistent with contemporary accounts from books like 1976’s “Champagne and Baloney: The Rise and Fall of Finley’s A’s” by Tom Clark. My copy is elsewhere, but I will gladly guarantee that you will find in that book documentation that Washington’s bat invited attention for its extreme size and weight when he was first called up in 1974. While Clark documents Washington as eventually slimming down his bat, even this reduced size left him swinging one of the bigger, heavier bats in the majors. This club, as I note, is entirely consistent with that contemporary history.

Anyone who wants to verify this history in Clark’s book should either consult a local copy at their library (worldcat.org will tell you, by zip code, the nearest copy) or, if you’re a serious buyer willing to wait, for me to grab a copy here in Los Angeles.

Washington’s bats dating from the A’s are one of the more elusive ingredients for a collector of Oakland A’s and/or 1974 A’s world champions collections. Please email or message with any questions, to arrange a purchase for the full $350 (or offer a lower price), or, to propose any trades.

Thanks for reading!