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I have a couple of bats from the 1948 World Series that were handed down to me. One is from the Boston Braves, the other from the Cleveland Indians. The way the story was told to me was that my late Uncle had a cousin that was on the roster for the Indians in pre-season that year, and then had some type of illness or something (don't know specific details, names, etc...sorry). At the end of that year, some of the players autographed paper and then sent on to an engraver (how they did it back then I guess) and then gave the bats to my Uncle's cousin. He then gave them to my Uncle, who then passed them down to me. Sadly, he passed away before I could get his cousin's name or any further details. Some of the names are engraved as signatures, some are engraved/stamped in all capital letters (all are in gold writing). Bats are dark brown (almost black) and in the middle of that bats have a stamp that says "Louisville Slugger 125 Hillerich & Bradsby Co Made in USA Louisville, KY"
They have been in clear, plastic tubes since they were handed down to me about 15 years ago and I assume even long before then...they look pristine for being so old.
I was wondering...Is there any way to get an approximate value of these? I know when my Uncle had initially told me about them he said he had contacted the HOF about them and they said their best guess was around $2k for both of them without seeing them, but again that was 15+ years ago. I didn't know at that time that he would pass and then hand them down to me or else I would have asked more questions.

BTW, I sent an e-mail to the HOF already...waiting for a response.

The guy that owns this place is considered the go-to for value questions on sports memorabilia. That there's a Boston Braves connection may help: http://www.sportsworld-usa.com/

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Awesome, I'll check it out...thanks Flipper

You're gonna need to get those checked/authenticated by a memorabilia expert to get any value out of em. They could range in value from $50-$1000+++. You never know with these things, if they can't authenticate that they were used in a game and the sigs are stamped on there... I'd imagine they're not worth much. Good luck buddy.

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Thanks Newman, I had thought about that too. I know they were definitely not used in a game though....

From what I gathered... They're probably not worth much. Have no idea why the HOF quoted them at $2000. You should still seek an expert, you may have something valuable. Most likely you'll hold onto em for sentimental value or donate em to a museum...

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Wow...nice bats! Its been quite a few years since I was in the hobby business, but I will check around here in town, and see what info I can come up with for you. Like Newman said.....it would have been good to have some documentation to go along with the bats, but that just isn't the case sometimes.

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Thanks Snake
They are very cool and unique...but as I said, no concrete proof, names, etc.

Just found out from a baseball (bat) expert that these were in fact NOT a one of a kind item. He even has them in-stock already and listed to sell (verified by seeing his auctions)


Still valuable, but not as rare as a one of a kind item. Better to know now though I guess.

They are cool looking bats. Though their monetary value is a lot less than what ya thought, the true value is that they meant a lot to your uncle and he wanted ya to have them. That speaks volumes as to how much your Uncle loved you. I know that sounds sorta corny, but I still have the ticket stub to the only Mets game I ever went with my Dad, and all of the ticket stubs of the Mets, Jets, Knicks, Cyclones, Giants and 49er games I ever went with Sean as well as all of the Mets cards, shirts and memorabilia he gave to me over the years. To me their worth is invaluable.

That is very cool
As far as my Uncle, yeah it was cool that he gave em to me and all...but we were never really that close and they were special to him (I think) because of the story that went with them and them being a one-of-a-kind thing given to his cousin. So the nostalgia kinda went away when I found out they aren't one-of-a-kind

Here's a link to an auction where one of the bats was offered. Not sure how much this helps as the auction is from 2006 but it should give you some indication that the bats are pretty nice pieces.

http://www.americanmemorabilia.com/Auction_Item.asp?Auction_ID=28087&qf=tags&q=1936&offset=40&s=AuctionEnd+DESC%2C+Featured+DESC%2C+RandNo+ASC&p=0&t=Closed

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Cool, thanks buddy. The guy I was referred to (bat expert, sells tons of baseball bats/memorabilia) actually has one currently up for sale, that's how I found out there were in fact not one of a kind. He has just one of the bats listed for sale at $995 I think. Course, that doesn't mean someone will actually buy it for that though.