Gehrig bat

[cjclong]

Does anyone know what were the lengths of the Louisville Sluggers Lou Gehrig used during his career. Did he ever use a 35 inch bat?

[MSpecht]

Hi--

As mentioned on this forum previously, H & B early factory records (basically pre-1940) generally list only the weight of a player's bat rather than the length. Thus, acceptable ranges for the lengths of players' professional models for that era usually must be determined from other sources, such as comparison with other bats known to have been used by the player, examples from H & B vaults, player interviews, etc.

In the case of Lou Gehrig, 35 inches is a length that is accepted by authenticators as matching known player specifications for Gehrig. Recent examples of sales include:

1) a 35" (specifically 34.875 inches) Hanna Batrite sold last week In Robert Edward auctions for $3500.00 (lot 1099);

2) a side-written Hanna Batrite Gehrig bat that recently sold for a little over $50,000.00: and

3) the recent Ebay sale of a 35" (specifically 35.125 inch) Gehrig H & B Louisville Slugger for $73,000.00 that was prominantly discussed on this forum http://www.gameuseduniverse.com/vb_forum/showthread.php?t=950&highlight=gehrig

Also, in H & B factory records, an order shipped to Gehrig of "his 5-13-31" model bat (which was later given Model Number G69) on 8/7/38 is documented at 34 inches / 36 ounces.

Good Luck in future collecting.

Mike Jackitout7@aol.com