Calling all Vintage Bat Experts

[sicollector1954]

Good catch on what appears to be a "6"...He did not mention seeing this and I did not as well! My issue with it being a transition bat is that the 125 stamping was used according to Maltas book from 1922-25 where as the & SON CO. was only until around 1916-17 and the Dash Dot Dash from 1917ish until 1921 or 22 when the Made in USA came into being. Awful long transition. The ME I will address after I have heard from other people...I only have a theory on it...

Great catch on the 6!!!!!

[Batman]

There is a site called baseball-fever.com or some such thing. There is a wood bat discussion thread. Brian Hillerich posts there once in a while under BMH. I would contact him somehow. He's all about L.S. pending confidentiality issues.

[sicollector1954]

Good to know. Thanks.

[bat_master]

Originally Posted by sicollector1954

Good catch on what appears to be a "6"...He did not mention seeing this and I did not as well! My issue with it being a transition bat is that the 125 stamping was used according to Maltas book from 1922-25 where as the & SON CO. was only until around 1916-17 and the Dash Dot Dash from 1917ish until 1921 or 22 when the Made in USA came into being. Awful long transition. The ME I will address after I have heard from other people...I only have a theory on it...

Great catch on the 6!!!!!

The 125 in the center label looks to be the wide version used from 1922-24. Which I think is basically what you're saying above.

According to the Malta guide, the 125 was introduced in 1917 so it would be just the wide version that really throws a wrench in it. Maybe. Maybe not.

When looking over previous versions of the difference center labels (mainly 1910-15) the width of the -.- (dash dot dash) and "MADE BY" in the center label is fairly consistent. Both of these markings generally run from the 'I' in LOUISVILLE to the 'U' in SLUGGER located at the top of the center label.

It sort of stands to reason then, that when H&B made the move to introduce the 125 stamping they did so using the same spacing as previous markings.

Here's another similar bat with same sized 125:
https://www.mearsonlineauctions.com/...LOT137471.aspx

And another:
https://www.worthpoint.com/worthoped...ille-499097724

Both of these bats have the same center label. I'd call it a 1915-17.

[sicollector1954]

Thanks Tim.

[JoeDfan]

Originally Posted by sicollector1954

Good catch on what appears to be a "6"...He did not mention seeing this and I did not as well! My issue with it being a transition bat is that the 125 stamping was used according to Maltas book from 1922-25 where as the & SON CO. was only until around 1916-17 and the Dash Dot Dash from 1917ish until 1921 or 22 when the Made in USA came into being. Awful long transition. The ME I will address after I have heard from other people...I only have a theory on it...

Great catch on the 6!!!!!

I am guessing 6 is the original weight of the bat?
Tim gave some excellent examples here with the same label.
Another collector friend of mine once speculated that original bats might have been created earlier, and finished later to fill orders, which might explain the difference. Just a thought. Now you make me want to go look and see if I have this label in my collection. Lol.

[sicollector1954]

A friend who deals in gloves sent me an article from a Chicago Sporting Goods store which I think might solve the ME labeling. The company at the turn of the century often attached their stampings to other items sold in their stores besides gloves including Louisville Slugger bats. Seems to me this answers that question. Thanks Brett! I will now throw away my idea that it might have stood for Military Edition. LOL

[JoeDfan]

Nailed it!!
Great work!

[MGHPro]

There’s a Joe jackson decal bat with the me logo out there

[sicollector1954]

Feel free to post a picture if you have one to compare. Time frame would seem to be the same...

[balltrash]

But this picture shows a metal branding die which was used by Slugger. Note the area in which an additional piece of metal would be seated in order to add a 125, 250, or other mark. Could explain what caused one off or oddball brands when the wrong plate was used.