In 1935, Babe Ruth was wrapping up a 20-year career that saw him hit more home runs than any man in the history of the game and in the process, become an icon more recognizable that the President of the United States. For his final season, Ruth went back to the city where it all began for him: Boston.

     Playing for the Braves that summer, it was painfully obvious that Ruth’s once flawless timing was affected by his advanced age, but as a tribute to his tribute to his immense drawing power, fans flocked to the ballparks just to catch a glimpse of the game’s biggest star. Sometime in 1935, the Babe visited Ft. Huachuca, Arizona, and signed this store model bat for William McKeller of the United States Air Corps.

     Although this is a store model as opposed to a professional gamer, this bat’s condition and visual appearance is simply stunning. The wood finish is a medium warm brown upon which the barrel and center brand stampings leap off of. The “Powered” script stamping is done in a very attractive gold, adding even more visual appeal to this bat. The pièce de résistance is of course Ruth’s signature. The Babe has signed a carefully sanded area below the barrel stamping in his elegant script. The signature is perfectly rendered in black fountain pen and stands out nicely against the sanded finish. About as perfect a signed Ruth bat as you will find. The bat comes with a full LOA from Steve Grad of Beckett Authentication, who have graded Ruth’s signature a NM 8. There is also a LOA from PSA/DNA.

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