December Card & Memorabilia Auction Dec 9 - 18/19
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 12/18/2022
Whether it was for sprinting to first base after a walk or, as Mickey Mantle claimed in Ken Burns’ documentary ‘Baseball,’ making an effort to climb the fence for a home run that was clearly out of reach of everything, Whitey Ford probably didn’t realize how powerful the nickname “Charlie Hustle” would become when he coined Rose with it early in Rose’s career. Rose’s grit, determination and desire to give everything he had on the playing field were clearly factors in his remarkable achievements of becoming the all-time MLB leader in hits, games played and singles. 1974 saw Rose lead the National League in doubles and runs scored as he used this Adirondack 69A model bat during that season. This. Bat displays excellent game use and has a crack on the handle. There are ball marks, stitch impressions and cleat imprints present on the barrel. The bat’s model number “69A” is stamped on the knob and the weight “34” is handwritten in pencil. Also on the knob is Rose’s number “14’ in black marker over a red marker. A notation of “Game”, along with other illegible notations are on the knob. A piece of tape has been applied to the barrel that has inscribed “Cracked by Pete Rose in Batting Practice 8-31-74”. Please note that PSA/DNA has determined “The tape on the barrel identifies the date the bat was originally acquired and includes brief details as to when the bat was used. The tape was applied by the original owner and not the Cincinnati Reds Gift Shop, which also applied tape to the barrels of bats that were used by the players.” This bat comes with a LOA from PSA/DNA (1B25249) for the game use.