Bobby Thomson bat records for 1951 ???

[cjw]

Hi,

I would love some assistance if possible- to pinpoint the make of bat Bobby Thomson ordered in the 1951 season. I understand from the Baseball Hall of Fame website that Bobby's "Shot Heard Round the World" bat is on display and is a "Louisville Slugger"; however, I just purchased a original letter adressed to Bobby from the HOF (dated Dec 31, 1952) thanking him for his donation of his "Adirondack bat". The seller indicated that he was a long-time neighbor of Bobby's and that this letter was linked directly into the donation of the famous pennant-winning HR.

Not sure who has the info wrong, or perhaps the HOF would have asked Bobby for another bat 14 months after the event? I should have done my homework on this prior I guess!

Thanks!

[RobSteinmetz]

This is neat stuff. In all seriousness, this would be a perfect segment on the PBS television series History Detectives. I know Elyse Luray (one of the stars of the show) also does some auction supervision work for Grey Flannel...maybe you can try to contact her (or the show's producers). Given the historical significance attached to that home run, it would be neat to see if they'd do some research on your letter. A long shot, but it might be worth pursuing.

[cjw]

Thanks Rob!

I will try that avenue....why not. It may just be that the person assigned to type the letter to Bobby, highlighted the bat model incorrectly. I am really curious however. I am moving across the country (tomorrow!...yikes, I should go to bed!) and will try to contact your source next week.

chris

[ironmanfan]

I have been to the HOF a few times & I could swear that the Thomson bat on display is an Adirondack model. Perhaps the web site is simply in error. I know I took a picture of the bat (which is displayed) with the hat he wore.

[cjclong]

I wrote to the Hall of Fame asking that same question some time back. Their research person wrote to me that the bat Thomson hit the famous homerun in the '51 playoff game was an Adirondack and sent me a photo copy of a picture the Hall has of him taken after he hit the homerun and the bat in the picture is an Adirondack. I had seen something associated with the Hall that showed the bat to be a Louisville Slugger, but apparantly that is just wrong. By the way, the Hall has a ton of pictures and they will let you purhcase copies of individual pictures. In addition to finding the picture for me of Thomson with the Adirnodack bat they found a picture I had been looking for years to find from the '61 World Series.

[ironmanfan]

I checked my pictures (from a 1989 visit) and indeed the bat they (the HOF) have on display associated with "The Shot Heard Around the World" is indeed an Adirondack "Bob Thomson" model. Additionally, I recall Adirondack selling selling autographed replicas of this bat on the 40th anniversary in 1991. Appears to be just a typo on their web-site.

[cjw]

Thanks gents! I have also been to the HOF a few times and couldn't remember what model the bat was. Perhaps I should contact the HOF web-master and ask him/her to double check and perhaps update this link?

http://www.baseballhalloffame.org/exhibits/online_exhibits/1951/1951_story.htm

[ironmanfan]

I shot them an email earlier this morning & they responded that they will investigate & change in the near future.

[cjclong]

It might be a good thing to let them know. I would think they would want to be accurate on things, even relatively small ones.

[cjw]

As of last week they hadn't changed the bat maker referemce on the HOF link so I emailed them again and also asked a gent at the photo dept if he had access to a picture that showed Boby with his bat after the HR? I haven't heard back on this question but the link has been updated - and the mention of the bat on display being a "Louisville Slugger" has been removed.

chris

[ironmanfan]

I did notify them at the original time of this post & they said they would correct it soon. Coincidently, I did check it the other day & noted that they no longer make reference to the bat manufacturer. They also told them the bat in question is currently with their "traveling exhibit." It is pretty well known that Thomson was a major endorser of Adirondack bats (as were a lot of Giants from that era).