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MANUFACTURING PERIOD
Circa 1950s
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MANUFACTIRER
Larimer & Norton Inc.
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Larimer
& Norton Inc. was a major supplier of
wood for baseball bats, particularly
for Louisville Slugger. They were
located in Northern Pennsylvania,
specifically in the towns of Galeton
and Akeley, and supplied trees like
white ash and hard maple. They were
also responsible for producing the
promotional bats given away on "Bat Day
held at Major
League baseball games.
Irv Norton worked for the Adirondack bat company and by 1946, he and a
partner Dan Larimer, a country store
operator, started a bat mill on the
west side of Conewango Creek in Akeley,
near Russell, Pennsylvania, in 1950.
The Larimer and Norton mill became the
chief supplier of “bat blanks or
billets” used by the Louisville
Kentucky-based Hillerich and Bradsby,
maker of Louisville Slugger bats.
Hillerich and Bradsby subsequently
purchased the Akeley mill in 1954. They
also owned plants in Ellicottville,
N.Y., Troy, N.Y., Galeton, Pa., and
Hancock, N.Y.
The white ash tree found locally in New
York and Pennsylvania was harvested by
Larimer and Norton Inc. of
Ellicottville. Prior to this, the plant
was owned by
William O. Nannen and
Sons. Irv Norton produced custom
made baseball bats in the 1950s under the name
"Norton." These reverse branded bats
were not marketed. Pictured below is A
Hillerich & Bradsby Co. Louisville
Slugger made from the 1st Billet M3
Dowler by Larimer & Norton Akeley,
Pennsylvania, on March 11, 1968.
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Larimer & Norton Inc.
Norton Custom Made Baseball
Bats |
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Louisville Slugger 1st Billet
M3 Dowler L&N Akeley, PA, March
11, 1968. |
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KEYMAN COLLECTIBLES
RELATED RESOURCES |
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