Although he is not well known today, back in the 1930’s and early 1940’s, Cincinnati’s Paul Derringer was the National League’s premier right hander. Derringer was saddled with many losses early in his career due to his misfortune of pitching for some very hitting-poor Reds teams, but by 1938 the franchise had begun to turn around.

     Backed by future Hall of Famer Ernie Lombardi and all-stars Billy Werber, Ival Goodman and Frank McCormick, Derringer ran up a string of four 20-win seasons. After narrowly missing the 1938 pennant, Cincinnati succeeded the following year behind Derringer’s 25-7 record. The Reds lost to the Yankees in the World Series, but the next year the Reds were even stronger, with Derringer winning another 20 games. Facing Hank Greenberg and the Tigers in the Series, the Reds ace posted two complete game victories against Detroit, including the pivotal Game 7.

     This tremendous Hillerich & Bradsby Derringer model bat has been signed by members of the 1940 World Championship Reds on all sides of its well-used barrel. The signatures are in black fountain pen and among the legible names are Bucky Walters, Gene Thompson, Lew Riggs, Eddie Joost, Whitey Moore, Lee Gamble and Billy Myers. The handle has a been cracked and the finish appears to have been sanded to enhance the grip. A gorgeous bat commemorating Cincinnati’s forgotten back-to-back pennant winners. The bat comes with a full LOA from PSA/DNA (1B12616) for the game use and a full LOA from Steve Grad of Beckett Authentication for the signatures.

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