Babe Ruth's Bat

[Pierre Tavlitzki]

Americans are keen of their history, and do not forget their heroes. The memoirs of great athletes, musicians, actors, is preserved in a network of private museums, the Halls of Fame.

Similarly, the United States are far ahead of the rest of the world on the market of sports memorabilia. I have already discussed in this group of sport images, not yet of jerseys and shoes, and today I introduce real accessories.

Babe Ruth is a baseball legend, and one of the first five top players ever honored by the Baseball Hall of Fame, in 1936. On October 2, Heritage sells in Dallas the bat he used in 1918, estimated 50 K$. Made by Hillerich and Bradsby, this model was the best suited to his prodigious swing, and it served as a prototype for all other bats used by the champion until 1926.

The great day of Babe Ruth was April 18, 1923. He was the star player of the Yankees team, for which the new "temple", the Yankee Stadium in New York City, was inaugurated. The bat he used for the first run that day was sold $ 1.1 million before fees ($ 1.26 million including premium) by Sotheby's in December 2004.

[Pierre Tavlitzki]

The realized price, 537 K$ including fees, is regarded as a special tribute to one of the greatest players in baseball history.

Of course, this lot did not have the prestige of the memory of the opening of Yankee Stadium, and could not reach the price of the bat sold by Sotheby's in 2004. The estimate seemed low to me, but I was not expecting such a high level.