Question about Hank Aaron 1976 bat on ebay

[MSpecht]

Just a quick follow-up with random thoughts:

I did not mean to imply that the % of "Powerized and Bicentennial Logo' dual branded bats was 1 out of 75. I just noted that I only came across one in the quick research of about 75 bats that was quickly done. I think that the true percentage is much much less than that, and that the dual branding variation on non-commemorative H & B professional model players bats is very rarely seen.... Some of the earliest research on game used bats was done by Mike Montbriand, who wrote a series of articles related to the bat collecting hobby for SCDin the early 1990's. In his SCD article of 6/1/1990 it is clear that Mike, who had amassed a pretty large collection by that time, and did some solid research, was unfamiliar with the dual stamping of Bicentennial bats. As Dave Grob points out, however, 'never say never,' and the current research supports Dave G's stance.

Also, apologies for my loose use of the term 'common player' when mentioning the Roy White bat. My reference was only that, if thought was being given to the possibility that only certain "high profile" players possibly had some type of commemorative set of bats produced with dual branding in 1976, it is not likely, in my opinion, that Roy White would have been included.

Finally, in finding another source of approximately 20 images of 1976 Bicentennial bats, none featured the dual branding ( no, I am not saying that the percentage now is 1 in every 95 bats). I also recall seeing instances in the H & B order records where certain players requested "no Bicentennial logo" on their bats, but I don't recall any notations of "add Powerized brand" in any players records.

Mike

[33bird]

Mike-I agree with ya. The % was just a guess from what numbers were being thrown out. I think it's a rare thing too, to have both the bell and powerized. I'm sure we'll come across some more as time goes on though. Thanks for your help. Thanks to Dave Grob and Zane Burns too.

[ironmanfan]

Good Stuff....I really never took notice that the 1976 bats didn't use the Powerized branding until recently...

It's just always curious (to me anyway) when the variations seem to be skewed towards the star players (i.e. Aaron, Bench, Rose, etc.)..

I'll certainly follow this variation much closer now and will report should I find anything that could be useful.

Thanks

[sayhey24]

I took this photo earlier this week when there were only a few posts -- even though it's been well established that most Bicentennial models don't have the Powerized branding, I didn't want my brilliant photography to go to waste, so I thought I'd show it anyway.

A poster earlier today made a very good point about 1976 Reds bats -- it's always been known the Reds ordered game bats that year specifically to sell in their gift shop, so it's wise to be very careful when purchasing any Reds game bats from that year.

Greg

[33bird]

Wow-sayhey-great bats. Yea, the Reds Gift Shop did sell some-but they are very easy to distinguish from the real ones, unless you are a serious rookie!

[MSpecht]

Just to add to the interesting aspects of this thread a little bit... the photo of the Rose 'double branded' R195 bat in post # 8 above does not appear to be documented / supported in Rose's H & B records, as his only two orders of that model in 1976 are documented as having a Galen finish. Also, here's a photo of Johnny Bench in 1976 with a Bicentennial bat (no powerized) that appears to be a model Mc44, which is only documented as ordered once on 3/23/76 ---however it also appears to have a cupped end, which is not noted in his H& B records. The model could possibly be A99, which he did order once in 1976 (cupped end on 8/17/76) but that order is documented as having a Hickory finish.

When all is said and done, I will always go with Dave Grob on all things Cincinnati, as he has researched Reds bats more than anyone I know.

Mike

[metsbats]

I got a response from John Taube and he concurs that the "Powerized" variation is rare. He will have to go into his database to get exact numbers he has handled over the years. That said he would really love to hear from anyone who has one (or more in Greg's case) so he can include them in his research database.