1714 Favorite Baseball Bat

The 1714 "Favorite" bat is part of Sears Roebuck and Co. "WLS - Worlds Largest Store" line of bats. The 1714 Favorite bat is listed in the 1930 Sears catalog. The 1714 catalog designation was previously used for the "Youth Model" in 1927, but with the WLS Label. This "High Quality Bats" label was used for a number of models that included; 1715 "Knox-All Junior League," and 1724 "American League."

From 1908 until 1961 Sears, Roebuck & Company sold a wide variety of sporting goods, under the brand name "J. C. Higgins." John Higgins was the manager of the headquarters' office bookkeepers. In 1908 John Higgins consented to Sears the use of his name for a new line of sporting goods. Since he did not have a middle initial, Sears added the "C."

The 1912 Sears catalog ad below show the J.C. Higgins baseball bats using 4 digit model numbers starting with "69--" By 1920 model numbers in the "1600's" were used for all their sporting goods, and in 1925 when Sears sold the WLS "Worlds Greatest Store" baseball bats, a 4 digit number starting with "17--" was used as the model number. This included the J.C. Higgins baseball bats. The 4 digit 1600 model numbers were exclusively used for baseball gloves after this time. The 1700 model numbers were exclusive to Sears baseball bats even after 1961, when sears introduced the Ted Williams brand of sporting goods, replacing the J.C. Higgins brand.

In 1923, Sears, Roebuck and Co. decided to start up a radio station to address and target the lucrative farming market. When the station signed on in 1924 they broadcasted farm reports and weather information. The station was original assigned the call letters WBBX, and during the test period they used the call letters WES (World Economy Store) At the last minute the change was made to WLS which stood for 'World's Largest Store.'

The 1930 catalog ad below shows the J.C. Higgins signature model bats with the 1702-1707 model numbers, that were made for Sears by "The maker of the famous Louisville Slugger Bats." The WLS baseball bat models 1700 -1721 are listed below the JC Higgins bats, including the 1714 "Favorite." The "Double Header High Quality" center brand might be a later model, issued after 1930.

Sears Roebuck and Co. "WLS - Worlds Largest Store" line of bats.


WLS Radio Sears World's Largest Store Flyer	1912 Sears JC Higgins catalog ad	1927 Sears WLS baseball bat ad	1930 Sears WLS baseball bat ad

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