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This baseball bat was made for Crowley-Milner and Company, a major
department store chain founded in
Detroit, Michigan, in 1909. Generally
referred to as Crowley's, they were the
first Detroit retailer to have
gas-fueled delivery vehicles instead of
horse-drawn wagons. In 1920, the store
was the first retailer to initiate
time-payment sales, or layaway, on all
general merchandise, with the sales
financed through the Morris Plan Bank.
Crowley's also pioneered a
charge-plate system, which was the
forerunner to credit cards.
Crowley's Sporting Goods department was located in the basement. They
carried a full line of baseball
equipment made by major manufactures
such as; Reach, Spalding, Draper &
Maynard, Wright & Ditson, Charles C.
Carr baseball uniforms, and Louisville
Slugger baseball bats.
The simple branding on this bat reads; "Crowley Milner & Co., De troit
Michigan" and cannot be attributed to
any major manufacturer. The crude
branding, and space in the word "De
troit" might be an indication that the
bat was produced by a local woodworking
plant. The Crowley's store in downtown
Detroit closed in 1977.
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Crowley-Milner Baseball Bat |
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