1939 was an emotional year for the New York Yankees. Although they won the World Series in four games against the Cincinnati Reds, superstar first baseman Lou Gehrig announced to the world his terminal diagnosis of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. The loss of their talisman and star was a tough break for the Yankees, although its impact was lessened slightly by the continued emergence of future Hall of Famer Joe DiMaggio. “The Yankee Clipper” hit .381 in 1939 and was awarded the first of his three American League MVP Awards.

     This Hillerich & Bradsby bat was made in 1939 and is un-cracked. This 35-inch, 32.7-ounce bat features the gold engraved text “World’s Champions 1939” on the barrel. The names of the players on the team are engraved on the barrel. Oral Hildebrand, Spurgeon Chandler, Atley Donald, Steve Sundra, Frank Crosetti, Art Fletcher, and Marius Russo are simply engraved on the handle as printed text. The names of Hall of Famers Gehrig, DiMaggio, Joe McCarthy, Red Ruffing, Joe Gordon, Earle Combs, Bill Dickey, and Lefty Gomez are engraved as signatures. Other signatures include Bump Hadley, Charlie Keller, Tom Henrich, Babe Dahlgren, George Selkirk, Art Jorgens, Hoot Pearson, John Schulte, Johnny Murphy, Buddy Rosar, Pants Powell, and Red Rolfe. This item comes with a LOA from PSA/DNA (1B09739) confirming the age of the bat.

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