Black Betsy

Creation

The bat was hand made by a local fan of the South Carolina mill teams, Charlie Ferguson, out of a bunk from the northern side of a hickory tree. It was 36 in long and weighed 48 oz. Knowing that Jackson liked blacked bats, Fergerson darkened the bat with tobacco juice. Jackson took the bat to the minor leagues, where the fans often chanted "Give 'em Black Betsy" when Jackson came to bat.

Major leagues

Jackson took the bat, his favorite, with him when he was sold to the Philadelphia Athletics of the American League. It broke in early 1911, and Jackson sent it to major-league bat manufacturer J. F. Hillerich Company to get it fixed. He used the bat for the rest of his major league career.

Later owners

Jackson kept Black Betsy until his death in 1951. After his wife's death a few years later, it was bequeathed to her cousin and her son, Lester Erwin, who kept the bat on a bookcase for over 40 years. An eBay auction in January 2008 failed to attract the minimum bid of $600,000. On April 24, 2008, it sold at Sotheby's for $301,000.

Derivatives

Sporting goods companies Spalding and Hillerich & Bradsby and Rawlings produced reproductions of the bat for sale to fans, starting in the 1910s.

The National Pastime Museum, a virtual museum opened in 2013, included a bat described as "the rarest type of 'Black Betsy,' one that once launched many a line drive from 'Shoeless' Joe Jackson". The museum sold the bat at a Christie's auction in October 2016 for $583,500. The Christie's catalog called it a 1917–21 era Hillerich & Bradsby model, "one of two known professional model Joe Jackson bats, and the only full name script Signature model manufactured by Louisville Slugger that can be attributed to being used by Jackson.". In its report on the sale, Associated Press said, "Shoeless Joe's 'Black Betsy' bat is one of two known to survive from his career, and the only one with his full signature in script stamped into the barrel." Lester Erwin responded that the real 'Black Betsy' was the one he had sold in 2001, not the one sold in 2016.

References

References

1. (August 8, 2001). "Shoeless Joe's Bat Sells for $577,610". The New York Times.
2. (2001). "Shoeless - The Life and Times of Joe Jackson". McFarland and Company.
3. Fleitz, p. 15.
4. Fleitz, p. 17.
5. Fleitz, p. 48.
6. (October 20, 2005). "Shoeless Joe's Black Betsy to be auctioned". NBC Sports.
7. "Lot 183: Joe Jackson's "Black Betsy" Game Used Bat From Jackson Estate". Sotheby's.
8. (January 15, 2008). "Still No Buyer for Black Betsy".
9. "Lot 176: "Shoeless" Joe Jackson 1917-21 Signature Model "Black Betsy" Game Bat - Only Known Career Contemporary Example". Sotheby's.
10. (July 28, 2013). "WPW Throwbacks: Shoeless Joe Jackson's "Black Betsy"". WPW: What Pros Wear.
11. (2012). "1910s-1920s "Black Betsy" Spalding Store Model Bat". Huggins & Scott Auctions.
12. (March 19, 2013). "Opening Online: The National Pastime Museum".
13. (19 October 2016). "'Shoeless' Joe Jackson's game bat is auctioned for $583,500". AP NEWS.
14. "Lot 100: "Shoeless" Joe Jackson professional model baseball bat". Christie's.
15. (20 October 2016). "Former owner says Shoeless Joe bat sold Wednesday not 'Black Betsy'". The Greenville News.