How do you research a bat? (Photos added)

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Posted By: John Harrell

Jason,

Your mini bat is a Louisville Slugger from the late 30's more than likely. Lee Handley played from 1936 to 1947 and the LS 40 designation disappeared in the 1940's. The LS 40 regular sized bats were a slightly lower quality bat than the LS 125 models.

Some info on bats you can get by going to such places as the Louisville Slugger museum web site. Some you can get from books such as the one mentioned. Dave Bushing also put out some pocket-sized price guides for Louisville Slugger and Spalding models. Some info you can get from the web by looking up old sporting goods companies and reading their histories. Another source is old baseball guides put out by sporting goods manufacturers such as Spalding, Reach, Goldsmith, Hanna, and more. Some you just get looking at and handling old bats. There are more sources but these will give you some idea of where to look.

John