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Huckabay & Baum
Waterloo Baseball Bats |
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HUCKABAY & BAUM brand baseball bats
were manufactured from 1933 to 1937 by
Harold G. Baum in his wood shop on the
family farm in Monroe City, Illinois.
Baum's stepfather, William B. "Huck" Huckabay, was the salesman as well as
co-founder. The bats were sold to
individuals in the local area, and to
baseball teams throughout metropolitan
St. Louis. Total production was
estimated at between 500 and 750 bats,
with fewer than 100 examples remaining
today.
In an effort to support his family
during the Great Depression,
Harold G. Baum set up a complete
woodworking shop in a 30' x 40' shed
originally built by his grandfather,
Gustav Hirsch, on the
family farm. There was an abundance of
ash and hickory trees on the farm. Baum
converted a chicken house into a kiln.
Baum felled the trees, cut them into
logs, and pulled them to the wood shop
with a team of horses. The logs then
cut into 3" x 3" x 39" blanks. After
drying in the kiln, the blanks were
ready to be turned into baseball bats.
He used two lathes to turn the bats.
For rough shaping, he re-engineered a
duplicating lathe originally used
during WWI to make gunstocks.
There were three 'HUCKABAY & BAUM' baseball bat models branded; “GEARED TO
HIT” was the first model produced, but
Baum made the GEARED branding iron with
a mistake. He formed a plaster mold
that accepted impressions of the gear
and letters. A casting was produced
into which molten iron was poured. The
finished iron was flat, about 4" in
diameter, with a beveled edge, and
attached to a wooden handle. The brand
was heated with a torch immediately
before burning each bat. However, the
first branding iron was made with a
mistake. It had the “M” in BAUM turned
upside down.
The second Geared To Hit model featured the correct branding. The
“WATERLOO WALLOPER” model was the
third, and introduced later. This
branding iron was professionally made.
It was rectangular in shape and
electrically heated which made it much
easier to use. Bats with the WALLOPER
brand are much more professional in
appearance. This iron was mounted on a
stand. Each bat was rolled across the
brand, resulting in a higher quality
impression.
Read More About:
Huckabay & Baum Waterloo Baseball Bats
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Huckabay & Baum
Waterloo Baseball Bats |
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| HUCKABAY & BAUW “GEARED TO
HIT” mistake brand |
HUCKABAY & BAUM
“WATERLOO WALLOPER” brand |
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HUCKABAY & BAUW “GEARED
TO HIT” (Correct)
Baseball Bat |
HUCKABAY & BAUM
"WATERLOO WALLOPER”
Baseball Bat |
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