In 1920, Branch Rickey was tasked with reviving the St. Louis Cardinals ball club, a perennial cellar dweller in the National League. One of the first major moves Rickey attempted was to obtain the services of Jesse Haines, a minor league pitcher he had personally scouted. Standing in the way of Rickey signing Haines was money – the Cardinals were the cash-poor ugly stepchild in St. Louis, a distant second to the far more popular Browns. Somehow Rickey convinced the team’s stockholders to take out a $10,000 loan and Jesse Haines became a Cardinal. This marked the very beginning of Rickey’s remaking the Cardinals into a National League powerhouse. With Haines on the mound, the Cards would win three World Series and five pennants as they completely eclipsed the Browns as St. Louis’s favorite baseball team. Haines won 20 or more games three times, pitched a no-hitter in 1924 and led the league in complete games and shutouts in 1927.

Perhaps his finest moment came in the 1926 World Series when he defeated Babe Ruth’s New York Yankees twice as the Cardinal won the World Championship, the first for a St. Louis team. For 18 summers he was the Cardinals mound mainstay, closing out his career in 1937 with 210 wins and a ticket to Cooperstown. The Cardinals ace used this bat during the last four seasons of his career, 1934-1937, during which Haines hit .202, not at all bad for a pitcher at the time. Haines’ Hillerich & Bradsby Louisville Slugger is un-cracked and shows outstanding game use. There are small chips on the knob and the left and back barrel is covered with ball marks with stitch impressions. The vintage ash has taken on a warm, golden tone upon which the center brand and barrel stamping display nicely. An outstandingly rare bat attributed to a Hall of Famer, as no other Jesse Haines game used bats are known to exist. This bat comes with a LOA from PSA/DNA (1B03293) for the game use and has been given a high grade of GU 8.

Auction Notepad