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There is little known about the
manufacturer that made this "American
Bat." There is no company
information or origin branded on the bat. The American bat
No. 89, is mentioned in a 1909
advertisement for Bennett's clothing
store in Omaha, Nebraska. A full size
Crackerjack baseball, and the No. 89
American bat were a
premiums given away free with each
purchase of a boy's suit or reefer, (a
close-fitting usually double-breasted
jacket or coat of thick cloth. I had to
look it up) The No. 89 is also listed
in E.C. Simmons catalogs around the
same time frame. 'Simmons American' was
a trademark in store brand name for
sporting goods that the hardware
company carried.
It is not clear if E.C. Simmons
Produced the American Bat No. 89, or if
they carried a line of bats made by
"The American Bat Company Exclusive
Selling Agents" as advertised in their
catalogs. In a 1900 newspaper "the American Bat
Co.'s best oak bats" are advertised by
S.E. Olsen Co. department store of
Minneapolis, Minnesota. The bats with
painted ends and corrugated grips,
regular price of .75 cents, were
discounted down to .25 cents. No other
sporting goods items were advertised in
the full page ad. Catalog information
and ads, are as rare as the bats.
To date only Three "American Bat" models have
surfaced into the hobby. The No. 89, a ring bat that
fits into the early 1900's dating, and
a no. 22 boys bat that measures 27.5
inches. Both bats have the same
"American Bat" ornate branding. The No. 35 with
slight differences, has similar ornate
branding, and might be dated later or
to another company that started up in
1939. There
is no catalogs or advertising available to
use to confirm the dating of the No. 35
bats.
In 1939 there was a small company named the American Bat Company that was
started up in Woodburn, Oregon. The
company was short lived, and done by
1943. There is no evidence if this
company used the same ornate engraving
on their bats, that appeared on the No.
89 bats. Although the brandings are
very similar on the two bats, No. 89, &
No. 35, there are differences. Further
research needs to be done to positively
identify the manufacture of the No. 35.
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