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MANUFACTURER
- Kren Bat Co.
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Established in 1913, the Kren Bat Co.
traces it's roots to a little shop in
the back of Joseph G. Kren's home in
Syracuse N.Y. Early on, Kren gained a
reputation among major league
ballplayers for turning out high grade
baseball bats. The small bat company
gave Louisville Slugger a run for its
money, making sometimes upwards of
100,000 bats in a year. In 1939 the
factory built in the Krens’ backyard at
114 Beecher St. was destroyed by fire,
putting Kren Bats in jeopardy of
closing down. The factory relocated to
the Easy Washer building at 717 Clinton
Street and then to their final location
at 212 Bear Street, and continue
producing baseball bats.
Kren’s bats were used by some of the
best hitters to ever play the game:
Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Honus Wagner,
Frank Frisch and Rogers Hornsby, just
to name a few. Pictured above is the
earliest Kren's Special label, which
was produced into the 1920s, as was the
Kren's Professional, below. The
following label introduced around 1917,
featured
a diamond like design, which was
used until 1954. Joseph G, Kren.
was added at the top, Syracuse, New
York on the bottom, Kren's Special,
sandwiched between Hand Turned.
Below the diamond reads "Trade mark Registered Pat. Off." Other variations
of this branding features "Trade Mark Registered," "Trade-Mark"
inside the diamond, and bats that
are not Trademarked.
Joseph G, Kren line of baseball bats includes; Professional, Big Leaguer, Kren Special, Kren Klouter,
Clouter, Swat King, Legionaire,
Whippet, Viking, and
Excelsior. Block letter "Player Style"
bats include; Hornsby, Medwick, Waner, Gehrig, Ruth, DiMaggio,
Martin, Ferrell, Terry, Ott, Cronin, Simmons, Greenberg, Kell,
and Fain.
Joseph G Kren died in 1953, and the Bat factory at 212 Bear Street, was
sold to the Syracuse Floral Supply in
1956. In 1963 the Wood Shovel and Tool
Company of White Mills Pennsylvania,
added
"The Kren" bat to their product line.
The company advertised that they "still make bats
like Joe Kren master bat maker."
Early Bats feature the Joseph G. Kren
diamond center brand with "By Kren" on
the Barrel, before switching to the "Kren-Wood, White Mills PA" label. Player
Style models include; Ruth, Robinson, Musial, Mathews, Boyer, Kubek, Mantle,
and Maris.
The Kren bat produced by the Kren Manufacturing Division of the Wood
Shovel and Tool Company was short
lived. In 2016 Harpen Brand Holdings,
LLC of West Long Branch, New Jersey,
acquired the rights to the Kren brand.
The center brands used are the same as
the Joseph G. Kren diamond logo, but
with
"Kren Bat Co." at the top, and
"Established 1913" at the bottom. Their
line of bats include, Kren's Special,
and Kren's Klouter labels, Professional
Turn Series, and Hall Of Fame Series,
featuring legendary players such as
Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, and Shoeless Joe
Jackson.
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Joseph G. Kren Baseball
Bats |
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1953 Joseph G. Kren
Advertising |
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| 1963-'65 Kren
- Wood Co.,
White Mills PA |
New 2016
Kren Bat Co. |
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