You'd think the Hall of Fame would get it right
 

This week I picked up a Hall of Fame induction bat for the Class of 1937, which included Lajoie. Looking at the scan from the eBay ad, it looked like Lajoie's first name was misspelled, but I couldn't tell for sure. Now that I have the bat in hand, the spelling definitely is "Napolion."

I've seen misspelled names of World Series black bats -- most often players who aren't under contract with Louisville SLugger -- but I'd have thought for the Hall of Fame induction class, the quality control would be a little better.

Now come on, Mr. DiWolfe... try to be a bit more forgiving.

Seriously, that's pretty amazing that it got through like that. Wonder if anyone subsequently brought it to the HOF's attention? Still a killer piece!

Bat year?
 

That IS spelled correctly as Napol"e"on not an "i". It is not an "i" because there is no dot above the "e". It just doesn't have a good sized loop for the e (or any loop). The "j" has a dot above it. Another thing that is kind of funny is the E at the end of his signature is a different style, so you would think the e in his first name would look like that also. I believe no mistake was made.
Weren't a full run of every hall of fame year made of these bats within the past 20 years. So this is NOT from 1937?? If I got one of these, and they were made in say 1996, I would only want the 1996 one. Take Care!
Paul

I didn't say it was from 1937, only that it's for the Class of 1937.

I assume it's an original but certainly could be wrong.

Edited to add: an "original 500" obviously.

These HOF Bats were all made in the modern era. Not sure what year they started with (perhaps Matt or some other Bat guy here will know).

The older Induction years are all obviously retroactive, and were limited to 500 Bats as far as I am aware. If anyone here knows differently, please advise...

Paul,

I'm holding the bat in my hand, and it looks like an "i". Notice that the "i" in Lajoie also doesn't have a dot above it. Not a big deal. Just thought it was interesting.

I believe 1983
 

was the first year they started producing hall of fame Brown Bats.

Napoleon
 

Rob D.- I thought the exact same thing the first time I saw one of his signature model bats, but that is what his original signature stamp looks like. That sig is virtually a block letter stamp compared to some of the more modern bat stampings, some of which are unreadable.

"Every villain is the hero in his own play"

"More quotes to follow....."

Number of HOF bats produced
 

Perezfan (I'm sorry I don't know your real name),
I am definately not an expert on bats, but I do know that you are correct that the typical number of HOF bats produced is 500/yr. However, I do believe that there were 1500 produced for the 1999 HOF class (Ryan, Brett, Yount, Cepeda). Since Ryan is one of the guys that I collect and I was there for the bat distribution in '99, I know this is correct. As you are probably aware, the HOF bats also come with a retro HOF class bat as well. For example, 1999's HOF Induction also came with a retro bat from 1957 as well, so there are also 1500 of these out there. Perhaps the number of bats produced in recent years is not 500 as well. Food for thought... I hope this helps!

Scott.. thanks.

I collect Perez and know they reverted back to a distribution of 500 Bats for the 2,000 HOF Class. With the big names involved in the 1999 class, it makes sense that they would produce more (higher demand).

I guess the thing I was really wondering (and I'll try to word it more clearly) is as follows...

Did they ever produce more bats than is stated on the barrel? In other words did they produce additional batches in subsequent years, or was it a one-time production for each Hall of Fame Class?

Or in the case of the bat specifically in question, could there be more 1937 Bats in existence than the 500 originally produced? If anyone knows definitively, please post! Thanx, Mark

Is it me, or does the "p" in "Speaker" look like a "j".

Production totals
 

Mark,
I've been told by the HOF that they only do one production run for each class. That's what makes them so collectible among the bat collectors (and player specialist collectors).

Scott:

That is what I thought. Thanks so much for confirming!

Mark,
You're welcome! Glad I could help...

They are very nice pieces...
 

I was very excited to get my Ozzie Smith bat from the Hall in his induction year. What makes it so great for me, is that he went in by himself, so it's his name alone on the barrel. The real thrill was having him sign it the following year in gold Sharpie...looks like a gorgeous double stamping...