Goldin Elite Auction Ending May 22-23
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 5/23/2021
This lot closes on May 23rd, 2021 at 10:00 PM EDT for initial bids.
During the first two decades of the 20th century, there was no one smarter playing the game than Eddie Collins. The Columbia-educated second baseman was one of Connie Mack’s $100,000 infielders during the A’s 1910-1914 dynasty. Besides using his brains to excel on the field, Collins used his education to make sure he got what he deserved salary-wise from management. This was most evident when he was with the Chicago White Sox. While his teammates Joe Jackson and Chick Gandil complained they were taken advantage of by owner Charles Comiskey, Eddie Collins was able to command a very generous salary from the notoriously tight-fisted owner. This discrepancy in pay became the basis for the infamous 1919 World Series scandal. While eight of his teammates were tossed from the game for life, Collins remained above the controversy.
His encyclopedic knowledge of the game led to him being named the White Sox manager in 1924, a post he held for the next three summers. Then, on June 3, 1925, Collins became just the 6th player in history to join the 3,000 Career Hit Club. This remarkable bat was used by the great second baseman during the 1922-1925 seasons as he edged closer and finally surpassed the coveted 3,000 career hit mark. The Hillerich & Bradsby bat shows outstanding game use with a crack on the handle that has been secured with tape and nails. The tape has since been removed. There are ball marks on the top barrel and checking or grain swelling from repeated ball contact on the back barrel. The length and weight of this bat matches the weight and length of bats ordered by Collins during the 1922-1925 period. The bat’s center brand exhibits the remnants of white filler, and a check of factory records show that the Hall of Famer had his bats finished with white filler. This bat comes with a LOA from PSA/DNA (1B12688) for the game use and has been graded a GU 5. Additionally, there is a LOA from MEARS (302455) for the game use and graded this bat an A4. Please note that MEARS dated this bat from 1921-1931.