When Sports Illustrated was looking around for a ballplayer to become the magazine’s first cover star, they looked to Eddie Mathews. In just his third big league season at that point in 1954, the big lid from Texas had established himself as one of the games most feared sluggers. When he was joined that year by Hank Aaron, the pair combined to form the most explosive one-two punch to grace a box score since the days of Ruth and Gehrig. Mathews was simply explosive during the 1950’s, twice leading the NL in homers and blasting the majority of his career 512 home runs that would make him just the seventh player to gain membership to the exclusive 500 Home Run Club.

This 1950s Hillerich & Bradsby S2 model bat shows great game use by Mathews, with several ball marks and impressions on the barrel along with cleat impressions and scuff marks. The knob end has been stamped with the model number “S2” and Mathews number “41” has been handwritten in faded black marker. The 500 Home Run Club member has signed the barrel in black marker, completing this Hall of Fame gamer. This bat comes with a LOA from PSA/DNA (1B09630) for the game use and has been graded a near-perfect GU 9, plus a LOA from MEARS for the game use that has been graded a near-perfect GU 9.5. Additionally, there is a LOA from Steve Grad of Beckett Authentication for the signature.

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