Black Betsy

Black Betsy was the primary baseball bat of Shoeless Joe Jackson. It was created in 1903 when Jackson was 15. It broke the record for the highest sold baseball bat in history, when it was sold for $577,610 in 2001.[1] By then it was considered one of baseball's most fabled artifacts.[1] The record was broken in 2004 when a 1923 Babe Ruth bat sold for $1.2 million.[2]

This article is about the baseball bat. For the town, see Black Betsy, West Virginia.

Shoeless Joe Jackson, Black Betsy in hand, during his 1913 season with the Cleveland Naps.

Creation

The bat was manufactured by a local fan of the South Carolina mill teams, Charlie Ferguson. He used the northern side of a hickory tree to make the bat.[3] It ended up measuring 36 inches (91 cm) and weighing 48 ounces (1.4 kg). Knowing that Jackson liked blacked bats, Fergerson darkened the bat with tobacco juice. Jackson took the bat to the minor leagues, where the fans often chanted "Give 'em Black Betsy" when Jackson came to bat.[4]

Major leagues

Jackson took the bat with him when he was sold to the Philadelphia Athletics of the American League. Black Betsy was his favorite bat.[5] It broke in early 1911, and Jackson sent it to major-league bat manufacturer J. F. Hillerich Company to get it fixed.[6] He used the bat for the rest of his major league career.[1]

Later owners

Jackson kept Black Betsy until his death in 1951. After his wife's death a few years later, it was bequeathed to her cousin and her son, Lester Erwin, who kept the bat on a bookcase for over 40 years.[1] Erwin decided to sell the bat through eBay in 2001. In a 10-day auction, it gathered two bids. The winner, Rob Mitchell, owner of a marketing company in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, won the bat for $525,100 plus a 10 percent buyer's premium.[1] It was offered for auction again at Sotheby's on December 10, 2005, with an estimate of $300,000–$350,000, but failed to sell.[7][8][9] An eBay auction in January 2008 failed to attract the minimum bid of $600,000.[9] On April 24, 2008, it sold at Sotheby's for $301,000.[10]

Derivatives

Sporting goods companies Spalding and Hillerich & Bradsby both produced reproductions of the bat for sale to fans, starting in the 1910s.[11][12]

The National Pastime Museum, a virtual museum opened in 2013, included a bat described as "the rarest type of 'Black Betsy,' one that once launched many a line drive from 'Shoeless' Joe Jackson".[13] The museum sold the bat at a Christie's auction in October 2016 for $583,500.[2] The Christie's catalog called it a 1917–21 era Hillerich & Bradsby model, "one of two known professional model Joe Jackson bats, and the only full name script Signature model manufactured by Louisville Slugger that can be attributed to being used by Jackson.".[14] In its report on the sale, Associated Press said, "Shoeless Joe's 'Black Betsy' bat is one of two known to survive from his career, and the only one with his full signature in script stamped into the barrel."[2] Lester Erwin responded that 'Black Betsy' was the one he had sold in 2001, not the one sold in 2016.[15]

References
  1. "Shoeless Joe's Bat Sells for $577,610". The New York Times. Associated Press. August 8, 2001. p. D6. Retrieved August 29, 2010.
  2. "'Shoeless' Joe Jackson's game bat is auctioned for $583,500". AP NEWS. October 19, 2016. Retrieved March 31, 2020.
  3. Fleitz, David L. (2001). Shoeless - The Life and Times of Joe Jackson. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland and Company. p. 10. ISBN 978-0-7864-3312-4. Retrieved March 29, 2016.
  4. Fleitz, p. 15.
  5. Fleitz, p. 17.
  6. Fleitz, p. 48.
  7. "Shoeless Joe's Black Betsy to be auctioned". NBC Sports. Associated Press. October 20, 2005. Archived from the original on April 29, 2011. Retrieved August 29, 2010.
  8. "Lot 183: Joe Jackson's "Black Betsy" Game Used Bat From Jackson Estate". 10 December 2005: Important Sports Memorabilia and Cards. Sotheby's. Retrieved March 31, 2020.
  9. Mueller, Rich (January 15, 2008). "Still No Buyer for Black Betsy". Sports Collectors Daily. Retrieved March 31, 2020.
  10. "Lot 176: "Shoeless" Joe Jackson 1917-21 Signature Model "Black Betsy" Game Bat - Only Known Career Contemporary Example". 24 April 2008: Important Sports Memorabilia and Cards. Sotheby's. Retrieved March 31, 2020.
  11. "WPW Throwbacks: Shoeless Joe Jackson's "Black Betsy"". WPW: What Pros Wear. July 28, 2013. Archived from the original on April 29, 2014.
  12. "1910s-1920s "Black Betsy" Spalding Store Model Bat". Huggins & Scott Auctions. 2012.
  13. Bartsch, Tom (March 19, 2013). "Opening Online: The National Pastime Museum". Sports Collectors Digest. Retrieved March 31, 2020.
  14. "Lot 100: "Shoeless" Joe Jackson professional model baseball bat". The Golden Age of Baseball, Selections of Works from the National Pastime Museum. Christie's. Retrieved March 31, 2020.
  15. "Former owner says Shoeless Joe bat sold Wednesday not 'Black Betsy'". The Greenville News. October 20, 2016. Retrieved March 31, 2020.
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