1944-47 Babe Ruth Signed Bat, PSA/DNA Mint 9....

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Sourced from the famous Cy Jones Collection

1944-47 Babe Ruth Signed Bat, PSA/DNA Mint 9. While our national pastime's most noteworthy figure laid pen to the horsehide of tens if not hundreds of thousands of baseballs during his lifetime, it is a particularly rare and exciting occurrence when one encounters a bat bearing the mark of the Babe. Autographing bats just wasn't something that was typically done back in the days before permanent markers were in vogue, so those collecting pre-war signed wood are a brave and ambitious lot. They'll have cause to celebrate now, however, as we present the finest example we have yet encountered, a nearly pristine signature model Hillerich & Bradsby retail bat (35") bearing a black fountain pen ink inscription assessed at a 9/10 level by the notoriously strict graders of PSA/DNA.

The nearly flawless relic, reporting, "With best wishes From Babe Ruth" from its barrel, derives from the famous collection of Cy Jones, one of the early pioneers of the baseball memorabilia collecting hobby. A 1951 handwritten letter from Ruth's widow Claire references the gift of the bat and several other items in her included letter to Jones, with original mailing envelope. Jones' collection is also referenced in the August 6, 1942 edition of The Sporting News, listing some of the highlights of its Hall of Fame-quality contents, and noting that the best pieces had "been exhibited by Macy's, Abercrombie & Fitch and Spalding's in New York, and also was shown at the Polo Grounds, New York, in June, when it was loaned to the Navy Relief Society in connection with its All-Sports Carnival."

The listed bat was not yet in Jones' collection at the time this story ran, as the experts have been able to assign the production range of the antique relic to that of our lot title. Seven decades later, it stands as perhaps the finest Ruth signed lumber on Earth. Full Grading LOA from PSA/DNA, Mint 9. Full LOA from James Spence Authentication.