| |
In the early 1860's Benjamin H. Piper
entered into the manufacture of ax
handles and carriage spokes, where he
remained as the head of the business
until his death in 1899. The
company which employed nine men
incorporated in 1867. They used two
hundred cords of walnut and oak yearly,
in the manufacture of thirty-five
thousand spokes, forty thousand
axe-handles, and thirty-five thousand
hatchet- and hammer-handles. The wood
turning company began the manufacture
of bowling pins, fencing sticks, polo
sticks, and baseball bats some time
after 1890s. The B.H. Piper Co. was
listed in the 1920-1921 Sporting Goods
Trade Directory, but in 1924 company
filed a certificate of withdrawal from
business.
Sometime before Honus Wagner retired in 1917, the company produced a
custom baseball bat for him. Wagner had
big hands and the Piper bat made for
him was a 1 5/8" diameter grip vs. the 1 1/4" of a normal bat. Today the
bat is on display in the collection of
the
Manchester Historic Association.
There are at least three different
center brands used. The Piper baseball
bat models include; Ring bats, No. 6,
No. 8, a model No. 03, and a "Selected"
model. The models were also available
with ball balanced mushroom, and Acorn
knobs. The Mushroom knob baseball bat
was patented by the A.G. Spalding &
Bros. company in 1903, and became more
popular by the 1910's.
|
|
