Just as he had throughout his career, in 1951 Ted Williams rebounded from what was thought to be a career ending obstacle, only to murder the ball at a rate better than before. In the 1950 All-Star Game, Ted caught a Ralph Kiner drive, only to smash into the outfield wall, breaking his left arm. Ted finished the game, even hitting an RBI single, however his season and most likely his career, was over. An operation left him unable to fully extend his arm and every swing of the bat was followed by excruciating pain.

     Williams contemplated retirement, but a winter visit from Red Sox owner Tom Yawkey convinced Ted to persevere. And that he did. Working through constant pain, Ted managed to hit .318 and power 30 home runs to post one of the more remarkable come-backs in baseball history. Then, just as he seemed to be getting back on track, the Marines recalled Ted. The slugger spent 1952 and 1953 flying missions over North Korea. This two year break, along with a broken collarbone suffered during 1954s spring training, caused the sports writers and fans to speculate that once again, Ted Williams’ career was finished. And, just as before, Ted proved them all wrong.

     For 1954, Williams hit AL pitching at a .345 clip and drawing a league-leading 136 walks. It was these free passes, which, according to the rules at the time, did not count as at-bats, that cost Ted the 1954 batting crown because he officially did not have the mandatory 400 at bats to qualify. This archaic rule was soon changed to preclude this from ever happening again. This remarkable gamer dates from these challenging years, when time and time again Williams proved he could not only overcome adversity, but climb to new career highs. Ted’s Hillerich & Bradsby W166 model bat is un-cracked and exhibits light use. A few ball marks are visible on the back barrel and there are several abrasions on the barrel end from contact with the ground. The model number “W166” is stamped into the knob. To complete this splendid gamer, Ted’s immortal number “9” has been hand written on the knob in black paint. The bat comes with a full LOA from PSA/DNA (1B14540) for the game use.

Auction Notepad