Summer Premium and Catalog Auction July 31 & Aug 8
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 8/9/2015
By 1973 Hank Aaron had put up enough numbers to be a shoe-in for the Hall of Fame. Since 1954 Aaron was one of the National League's most respected sluggers, year after year posting frighteningly consistent totals that put his name at the top of most offensive categories. In 1970 Aaron had reached the 3,000 hit milestone and the next season hit his 600th career homer, making him just the third man in history to reach that plateau. When 1973 dawned, there was only one record left for Aaron to beat - Babe Ruth's 714 career home runs. Throughout '73 the 39 year-old slugger hit his usual 40 home runs but when the season ended he was still one short of the record. Despite death threats Aaron went into 1974 with one goal in mind - breaking the record. In the first series of the year Aaron tied Ruth and then on April 8th he hit 715 off Al Dowling of the Dodgers. It's awe-inspiring to think that every home run Aaron hit after that was the new world-record. This outstanding piece of lumber was used during the season Aaron tied Ruth's magic number and in the next two seasons where every homer was the new record. Hank's Hillerich & Bradsby model A99 bat shows outstanding use with a handle crack that has been professionally repaired. As befits the man who was closing in on Ruth's hallowed record, the barrel exhibits many ball marks with stitch impressions. There is a light coat of pine tar still evident on the handle. A tapeline is also visible that we cannot identify, though we can confirm it is not related to the taping of the barrel in batting practice. Model number "A99" is stamped into the knob end and Hank's immortal number "44" has been hand written on both the barrel and knob end in black marker. Referencing Aaron's ordering records, the bat's specifications of 31.7oz and 35-inch length with the center brand characteristics narrow this bat's date of manufacture to the 1973-1975 seasons. Letter of Authenticity from PSA/DNA (1B04225) who have graded this Cooperstown-ready bat a GU 9.