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MANUFACTURING PERIOD
1927-1939
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MANUFACTURER
Grier MFG. Co.
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In 1927 the Zinn Beck Bat Co. of
Greenville, South Carolina, which was
producing 3,000 bats a day, was sold to
Zenas C. Grier for about $50,000. Zenas Grier was the General Manager of the Zinn Beck Bat Company, which was owned
by Allen J, Graham and associates. The
name of the company was then changed to
Grier MFG Co., but Grier continued to
produce Zinn Back bats for a short time
into the 1930's. The company is believed
to have operated into the early 1940's.
The latest Grier MFG Co. baseball bat
can be dated to the 1939 baseball
centennial.
The Zinn Beck Bat Company was established in 1920 by Zinn Beck, a major
league ball player that played with the
St. Louis Cardinals, from 1913-1916,
and the New York Yankees in 1918. From
1920 to 1922 Beck managed the Columbia
Comers in Columbia, and from 1923 to
1925 Beck managed the Greenville
Spinners in Greenville, South Carolina.
His brother Garnett Beck, made
Laminated bats for his Superior Bat Co.
The brothers opened a factory in
Columbia, South Carolina, in 1920. In
1922 the company became a corporation,
then moved to Greenville, SC, in 1923.
Early Grier baseball bat center brands read, "Successor to the Zinn Beck
Co." As the Zinn Beck Bat Co. did, the Grier MFG Co. applied their player
identifiers, with the phrase “Type of
Bat used by” followed by the players
last name, in block letters, on the
barrel of the bat. Block letter player
endorsements which were featured on the
100 and 500 series Diamond Ace baseball
bats include; Rudy York, Mel Ott, Hank
Greenberg, Jimmy Foxx, and the Special
75 Bill Terry,
Professional 300 Joe Cronin. Other
models include; No. 8 Official
Softball bat, No. 9, No. 10, N0. 21,
No. 164 "Hand Rubbed," and No. 194.
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Grier MFG. Co. Baseball
Bats |
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Grier MFG. Co. Baseball Centennial Mini Bat |
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KEYMAN COLLECTIBLES
RELATED RESOURCES |
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