Mickey Mantle 1965-68 era

[sammy]

Hi Mike,

Was wondering if you could post Mickey Mantle's H&B shipping records for the 1965 to 1968 era?

Thank you once again!

[MSpecht]

Hi Sammy--

From 1965 thru 1968, Mickey Mantle's H & B factory records document the following shipments to The Mick for his use:

1965- M110 35 inches / 34 ounces 18 bats
M110 36 / 32 9 bats
D113 35 / 32 12

1966- D113 35 / 32 6
K90 35 / 33 12
W215 35 / 33 6
P104 35 / 32 30
K55 36 / 34 17

1967- K55 36 / 34 3
K55 36 / 35 3
M110 36 / 33 4
M110 35 / 32 6
P104 35 / 31 6

1968- M110 35 / 32 12
P104 35 / 32 12
S2 34.5 / 32 12
G69L 38 / 46 3
K55 34 / 30 3

I hope this info helps. If you are looking at a specific Mantle bat from this period, let me know the model and demensions and we may be able to narroe the time down quite a bit during this period.

Be sure to check out the Game Used Library section of Game Used Universe for the Mickey Mantle Player's Bat Chart for additional info on finishes, etc.

Below is a photo of a Mantle Adirondack dated to 1956 which was obtained by Steve Terman from a Washington Senators bat boy. Vince malta obtained this bat from Steve, and I obtained the bat from Vince. It remained in my collection until 1999. It remains one of those "I wish I still had..." items.

Good Luck in future collecting.

Mike Jackitout7@aol.com

[ghostkid]

Hi Mike,

Not sure if Sammy's question references this ebay auction, but here's a link to a 1965 Mickey Mantle H&B gamer. Its a D113, 34-3/4" and 32-3/4 ounces. Doesn't quite match the factory records you have quoted, but seems to be pretty close. Any thoughts?

http://cgi.ebay.com/Mickey-Mantle-Ga...QQcmdZViewItem

Kevin

[MSpecht]

Hi Kevin--

From what I can see from the photos in the auction, the bat looks like a "4th version" bat manufactured during the 1964 transition year, and would be correctly termed a 1964 1/2 to 1972 bat (in Mantle's case, 1964 1/2 to 1968.) That being said, the 1/4 inch length variation from the factory records as well as the slight weight variation, are within the perimeters established by major authenticators.

Model D113 bats, 35 inches / 32 ounces, were shipped to Mantle on 8/2/65 (12) and 2/14/66 (6) during that labeling period. That agrees with the owner's memory of the date he received the bat. Additional provenance is reasonable and, possibly, compelling. Additionally, the D113 model is not a bat that would likely contain Mantle's signature if it was part of a team order or index bat, as it was an extremely rare model for Mantle to order.

My personal opinion is that this bat matches Mickey Mantle's personal H & B factory records and is presented with additional provenance sufficient to make me very comfortable with this bat as a professional model bat, manufactured by Hillerich & Bradsby between the years 1964 1/2 and 1968 (more specifically between August,1965 and Feb 1966) for personal professional use by Mickey Mantle.

Good Luck.

Mike Jackitout7@aol.com

[sammy]

Hi Kevin,

I was referencing the bat you mentioned above.

The bat sold for 14500.00 today. My bid of 9800 didn't even get in the ballpark as I was pre-outbid.

Dang nice bat and excellent, believable provenance.

Thank you for all of your help Mike

[JimCaravello]

Coming back from my trip and checking ebay, I was surprised to see a Mantle bat listed on ebay. Definitely a good bat - the only question I had was the nails that were mentioned in the listing? - they were hard to see in the photos and the seller didn't really explain well where they were on the barrel?

I think the bat could have sold for more money if it was void of any problems such as the nails. I would have bid more aggressively myself if nails were not present. The nails could present an issue to any future buyer and could devalue the bat. They were not bat boy nails - they were placed into the bat by the seller. They could probably be removed and the bat could be repaired, but without seeing the bat in person, its hard to know what is involved in the repair process.

The winning bidder was a dealer named Scott Goodman out of Florida. Zane Burns also bid, but I was surprised to see that dealers such as Bushing and Taube did not bid - unless their bids were lower and they got bumped at the end with higher bids before their bids could be placed into the ebay system.

You don't see Mantle bats that often on ebay - this was a solid late career bat that appeared to show some decent use.

One of the benefits of this forum is that this bat was discussed in this thread and it provides an outlet for a collector to acquire a bat like this at a price below major auction prices and feel comfortable with the purchase.

In my opinion, the seller faired pretty well considering the ebay fees he has to pay and the ultimate price the bat sold for when you factor in the problem with the nails. This is a $20,000+ bat without the nail problems if sold in a major auction.

Jim