“Mr. Cub” Ernie Banks moved over to left field in 1961 when an old army injury began to hamper his play at shortstop. Although he was unfamiliar with this new position, Banks met the challenge head-on, committing just one error in 23 games. With the outfield mastered, Banks was then moved over to first base, which he conquered with his “let’s play two” attitude, to the point of even setting a single-game record of 22 putouts by a first baseman in 1963. During this 3-year stretch in which he held down two unfamiliar positions, Banks added 84 home runs to his eventual total of 512.

This is one of the Hillerich & Bradsby S2 model bats Banks used during those three transitional seasons. The bat exhibits excellent use with a handle crack. Several ball marks with stitch impressions are found on all sides of its barrel along with cleat imprints. The model number “S2” is stamped into the knob end along with a strip of Scotch tape with “Fink” written in ink. “Mr. Cub” has taken this already significant gamer to another level by adding a flawless signature to the barrel in bold blue marker. A tremendous game used bat from one of the most beloved players to ever don a Cubs uniform. This bat comes with a LOA from PSA/DNA (1B04398) for the game use and has been graded a solid GU 8.5. There is also a LOA from JSA (X80665) for the signature.

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