Possible Walter Johnson Bat?

[coltech]

tldr; My great grandfather may have gotten this bat from Walter Johnson as a gift.

http://imgur.com/a/vvICF

My great grandfather was Henry Musser who worked as a farm hand in Germantown Maryland. Henry had three daughters (my great aunts). As a child my dad was very close to his grandfather Henry. Years later after Henry had passed one of my great aunts passed and this bat was in her belongings. It was assumed to be Henry's bat as it has a giant H on the bottom of it and was given to my dad as he was so close to Henry. Fast forward to a few weeks ago and Henry's last surviving daughter who is in her late 80's told us that this bad was not Henry's and was a gift to Henry's daughter from "Walt". The story goes that Henry worked on the farm that Walter retired to in Germantown. Walter and Henry became good friends and Henry would often bring his family to Walter's farm. At some point Walter gave to Henry or one of his daughters as a gift. When we asked why there is an H on the base my great aunt said she thinks either "Walt put it there as a gift to Henry" who gave it to his daughter or that Henry put it on the bat after the fact to mark it as his property. It seems unlikely that my great aunt is making this story up as our family aren't sports fans and nobody (including myself) even knew who Walter Johnson was other than Henry's friend. It wasn't until I googled Walter Johnson that I realized he is kind of a big deal and that this bat may have some significance .

Here is an album of the bat:
http://imgur.com/a/vvICF

Can you guys point me in the right direction on authenticating this bat in some way?

[Mark17]

tldr; My great grandfather may have gotten this bat from Walter Johnson as a gift.

http://imgur.com/a/vvICF

...It seems unlikely that my great aunt is making this story up as our family aren't sports fans and nobody (including myself) even knew who Walter Johnson was other than Henry's friend. It wasn't until I googled Walter Johnson that I realized he is kind of a big deal and that this bat may have some significance...

Can you guys point me in the right direction on authenticating this bat in some way?

Couple of observations. First, it looks like the bat saw a lot of use after the "H" was burned into the knob, given the amount of dirt, etc. Second, there is a small mounting hole in the end of the barrel, which typically means it was being displayed at some point.

So, to my admittedly untrained eye, these characteristics don't look consistent with the story that the bat was acquired either before or shortly after the "H" was burned into the knob, by people who weren't into sports and had no idea the possible significance of the bat.

For that matter, "Johnson" is a common name, so I don't quite understand how the aunt knew it was significant enough to mention the bat came from THE Walter Johnson, without knowing who Walter Johnson was...

How long is the bat, and can you get a weight on it? Even if it was a bat gifted by Walter, it wouldn't have serious value unless it could be established it was one of his bats, that he used in games. Length and weight would be big clues to address that.

[Birdbats]

The center brand dates the bat to the 1900-1905 era (C-1B) and Johnson didn't debut until late 1907. So, you'd have to accept that Johnson had a pre-career bat hanging around to give away after he retired more than two decades later. Seems unlikely.

[coltech]

http://keymancollectibles.com/Louisvilleslugger.htm

It looks like the logo is from 1897 - 1911. So it could be from his playing years

[Birdbats]

http://keymancollectibles.com/Louisvilleslugger.htm

It looks like the logo is from 1897 - 1911. So it could be from his playing years

That site isn't nearly as accurate as Malta's book, which makes a big difference with a bat like this. Of course, even if was from 1911, Johnson would have needed to keep it in his possession for a very long time before giving it away.

[coltech]

It's my understanding that LOTS of people in Germantown knew Walter Johnson and that he was a ball player. He had open public hunting tours on his farm and dabbled in politics. So the fact that my great aunt knew that he was a popular ball player is realistic. She had no idea how important a ball player he was. Also, since that bat was given to a child it doesn't surprise me that it is beat up and used. They probably played with it. Hell, it sat in my dads basement on shelf for my entire childhood, I probably hit a few things with it myself. As for the mounting hole, I really have no idea. My dad never had it hung and his aunt never had it hung to my knowledge. Maybe it is a left over remnant of the production process when the bat was made?

[coltech]

Agreed, he would have had to give a way a bat he had for more than 20 years. That does seem unlikely.