The Only Known 1961 Mickey Mantle Regular Season Game Used Bat, PSA/DNA GU 9....

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The Only Known 1961 Mickey Mantle Regular Season Game Used Bat, PSA/DNA GU 9. Roger Maris famously started losing his hair due to the stress of the 1961 home run race, but those who think that golden boy Mickey Mantle had it easy could point to this bat as evidence to the contrary. It came into the possession of a security guard at the Los Angeles Angels' Anaheim Stadium after the Mick lashed out in frustration following a strike out, smashing the lumber into a fence post. The bat came out the loser in that fight, suffering a crack that ended its usefulness to the Yankee great.

The security guard took the bat home and expertly repaired it, taking his new souvenir back to the stadium where he soon acquired the autographs of Chicago White Sox players Nellie Fox, Bob Roselli, Cam Carreon, Russ Kemmerer, Juan Pizzaro, Ray Herbert and Minnie Minoso on its surface. While these autographs might ordinarily be considered a distraction for a bat collector, here they serve to establish the highly desirable 1961 vintage, as that was the only year these players shared a White Sox dugout. As such, the presented signature model Hillerich & Bradsby B220 stands as one of just three Mantle gamers that can be attributed to the glorious 1961 "M&M Boys" World Championship season, the other two being All-Star Game models and thus non-participants in the regular season heroics.

This is the only 1961 regular season Mickey Mantle gamer known.

Expert John Taube's very lengthy letter of examination finds that the length (just short of thirty-five inches) and weight (between thirty-two and thirty-three ounces) perfectly match Mantle's ordering records for the period. Taube characterizes the use as "outstanding," noting ball marks, stitch impressions, bat rack marks and a handle crack. The apparent lengthy term of service leaves little doubt but that one or more of Mantle's fifty-four long balls emanated from the bat's punished grain.

While the auction appearance any bat wielded by the Commerce Comet is cause for celebration, this rare opportunity to own the only known regular season 1961 bat from Mantle's arsenal is particularly noteworthy. With so many of the hobby's greatest treasures settling into permanent collections, it is entirely possible that it's an opportunity we'll never see again. LOA from PSA/DNA, GU 9. Full LOA from PSA/DNA. Auction LOA from James Spence Authentication.

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