2019 Summer Premium Live and Catalog Auction Lots 1-82 Close Aug 1- 83-end close 8/10

Lot #3: 1938 Jimmie Foxx American League MVP Season Game Used Hillerich & Bradsby "His 4-8-38" Pro Model Bat - One Of The Finest Foxx Bats Ever Offered! (PSA/DNA GU 9)

Description

With New York guys like Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig hogging all the newspaper headlines in the 1930’s, it’s easy to see how Boston and Philadelphia-based Jimmie Foxx could be overlooked. Yet during the late 1920’s through the 1930’s, Jimmie Foxx was one of the game’s greatest sluggers. After making his name as the first baseman of Connie Mack’s legendary 1929-1931 Athletics juggernaut, Jimmie Foxx was traded to the Red Sox in a blockbuster move designed to bring a pennant to Beantown.

Foxx did his part, averaging .321 and hitting 217 home runs during his six seasons in Boston. It was in Boston that he produced his biggest year, 1938. That summer Foxx bashed the ball at a .349 clip, smashing 50 home runs and batting in 175 runs. He led the AL in batting, RBI, slugging, on-base percentage, total bases, and walks, and just missed the Triple Crown when Hank Greenberg hit 8 more home runs than Foxx. He was the obvious choice for the league’s MVP Award, the third and final time he would lay claim to the honor.

Jimmie Foxx retired after the 1945 season as only the second player in history to hit 500 home runs. He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1951 and remains one of the true giants of the game. Used during his triumphant 1938 MVP season, Double X’s Hillerich & Bradsby pro model bat is un-cracked and shows outstanding use. As one would expect from the Most Valuable Player of 1938, the bat is covered in ball marks and cleat imprints, all grouped on the left and back barrel. PSA/DNA believes this bat comes from an order of 6 bats submitted by Foxx on April 8, 1938. That order specified a new model to be produced from a Joe Cronin model sent into the Louisville company by Bing Miller. The six new bats were made to a weight between 35 and 36 ounces, and this one currently weighs 34.7 ounces, an acceptable loss of weight due to age. The bat itself is visually stunning – the hickory has taken on a warm golden-brown tone with age and the stamping of the center brand and signature on the barrel are exquisite. These condition elements plus the fact that this was wielded by Jimmie Foxx in his MVP season makes this one of, if not THE finest Foxx bat in existence. The bat comes with a LOA from PSA/DNA (1B06373) for the game use and has been graded a near-perfect GU 9.

Final Bid (Includes Buyers Premium):$50,400
Minimum Bid:$7,500
Number of Bids:23