The 2009 World Series Baseball Auction
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on:
11/6/2009
This is a game used baseball bat of Eddie Waitkus, the major league first baseman whose experience formed the basis of one of the most famous baseball novels ever written, "The Natural" (1952) and ultimately of the blockbuster baseball film sharing the same name "The Natural" (1984) starring Robert Redford. Waitkus had an 11-year career in the majors during the years 1941-1955, playing with four teams, most notably the Chicago Cubs and the Philadelphia Phillies. After only a few years into what seemed a very promising career, in 1949 an obsessed female fan shot him in the chest while pretending to be an old classmate of his. Waitkus nearly died on the operating table and although recovered enough to play baseball for several years afterwards, was never able to meet the expectation associated with his "natural" talent often cited when he was a rookie. This white ash Louisville Slugger "125" Eddie Waitkus signature model baseball bat by Hillerich & Bradsby exhibits heavy game use. Measuring 34 inches in length the bat is stamped with its model designation, "U1" on its knob end and is cracked with surrounding black tape around its handle. Waitkus died in 1972 at the early age of 53 with few surviving artifacts and signatures of his extant. Accompanying the bat are an original prop ticket and Roy Hobbs "rookie" baseball card from the 1984 film "The Natural." The prop ticket is for a game played between Hobbs' team, the "New York Knights" and the "Chicago Cubs" at Wrigley Field in Chicago. The Roy Hobbs baseball card pictures Robert Redford in character wearing a Knights uniform and comes from among those seen being printed in the film to celebrate the popularity of Hobbs as a heroic Knights ball player.
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