1926 saw the debut of Detroit’s “Mechanical Man” – Charlie Gehringer. Though he quickly became a superstar, Gehringer was known for his quiet demeanor and business-like attitude. Tigers manager Mickey Cochrane famously said of him: “Charlie says `hello' on Opening Day, `goodbye' on closing day, and in between hits .350.” This bat dates from Gehringer’s first four seasons in the Majors.

After making a good impression on manager Ty Cobb with 27 sacrifice hits in 1926, Gehringer went on to record averages of .317, .320 and finally .339 in 1929. That last season he also led the AL in hits, double, triples, runs and stolen bases. Gehringer went on to win the MVP Award in 1937 and capped off his 19-year career by being voted to the Hall of Fame in 1949.

This tremendous rookie-era Spalding gamer shows light use and is un-cracked. “GEHRINGER” is stamped into the barrel and there are several ball marks on the left barrel. According to the letter of provenance that accompanies this item, this bat was gifted to the Bravener family of Fowlerville, Michigan. The Gehringer’s and Bravener’s grew up on farms close to one another and the friendship continued when both families moved to Detroit in the mid-1920’s. This bat was given to LaVerne Bravener as a token of appreciation for helping out with Charlie Gehringer’s mother’s needs when they moved to Detroit. The Spalding logo is stamped into the knob. Gehringer signed a Spalding contract in 1930, after which his bats were stamped with his signature. The stamped block letter name indicates that it was manufactured before he signed an endorsement contract with Spalding. The bat’s weight and length also indicate a probable 1926-1929 order date. A significant early-career game used bat from one of the Tigers’ greatest hitters. The bat comes with a LOA from PSA/DNA (1B13021) for the game use, grading it a GU 7. There is also a LOA from the great-grandson of Laverne Bravener, attesting to how this bat came into the family’s possession.

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