1960 Ted Williams Game Used & Signed Home Run Bat, PSA/DNA GU 10 & Photo Matched!...

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The Splendid Splinter comes up a triple short of the cycle, hits career home run #519!

1960 Ted Williams Game Used & Signed Home Run Bat, PSA/DNA GU 10 & Photo Matched! It's often said that Father Time is the only undefeated champion of the sporting world, but this pantheon figure of our national pastime gave him one heck of a fight. While virtually every athlete sees a significant decline in production as he approaches and surpasses his fortieth birthday, Williams was still playing like "The Kid" as he stepped to the plate on September 8, 1960, about a week past his forty-first. Facing Hall of Fame pitcher Jim Bunning at Briggs Stadium in his last ever appearance in Detroit, Williams singled, doubled and homered in his three at-bats, coming up a triple short of the cycle. The home run was number 519 of an ultimate career tally of 521, and Williams would finish this nineteenth and final season of his illustrious career with a .645 slugging average, remarkably surpassing his career average of .634.

Williams placed only a single order for signature model Hillerich & Bradsby W215's during his career, on September 1, 1960, so we can be certain that this battle-scarred beauty dates to the final month of his active duty. The experts properly characterize game use as "outstanding," referencing ball marks, stitch impressions and two colors of rack streaks on the barrel, while both barrel and uncracked handle exhibit the residue of Williams' proprietary blend of olive oil and rosin he used to enhance grip. Number "9" appears in vintage marker on the knob. Length is thirty-five inches (35"), weight thirty-one ounces (31 oz.). Blue sharpie signature on barrel is 9+/10.

The most ironclad evidence that places this bat in Williams' hands during that final month of Big League play comes in the form of a letter from End-to-End photo matching that links barrel bruises and the aforementioned knob writing to a photograph of Williams in action at the Motor City on September 8, 1960.

But the bat appears to have continued to serve Williams subsequent to this final three-hit game of Williams' career, as an included letter of provenance from teammate Don Gile recounts. Gile played first base during Williams' last game on September 28, 1960 that saw the departing legend go deep in his final plate appearance. Gile states that he asked the Red Sox bat boy to grab a Williams bat and put it in his (Gile's) locker that afternoon. Thirty years later, in November 1990, Gile reunited with his old teammate and acquired the signature that appears on the barrel. Notarized letters from both Gile (2020) and his widow (2023) testify to this provenance.

Furthermore, eagle-eyed collectors can spot the distinctive knob markings in the Fenway bat rack during Williams' last game by visiting Getty Image #691628650.

Photo matched bats from Major Leaguers who began their careers before the beginning of American involvement in the Second World War are exceedingly scarce, and certainly this specimen's connection to one of the last home runs of the greatest hitter that ever lived places it into the upper percentile of desirability of all existing gamers. LOA from PSA/DNA, GU 10. LOA from End-to-End Photo Match. Notarized letter of provenance from Red Sox teammate. Notarized letter of provenance from widow of Red Sox teammate. Full LOA from PSA/DNA. Full LOA from Beckett Authentication Services.