Sheldon Ball Bat

In 1882 after a fire destroyed his tool handle business in Great Valley NY, Mason Sheldon relocated to Ellicottville NY, before establishing a saw mil located in Kinzua, PA in 1885. The mil manufactured 400 handles a day, specializing in Axe, pick, and sledge handles. By the early 1900s his son Zello Sheldon who worked with his father eventually took over the business, and became the owner manager. Like most of the tool handle and woodworking companies of the day the Sheldon Handle Co. turned out baseball bats to make ends meet. In 1934, Zello Sheldon and sons, expanded the mill to meet an order place by the Spalding Sporting Goods company for 125,000 baseball bat blanks (billets).

The Sheldon Handle company named Sheldon-Wells by the 1950's, continued to do business in Kinzua until 1960 when against the wishes of the Seneca Nation of Indians, the government bought out the town to make room for the Kinzua Dam. The remains of Seneca ancestors were bulldozed to make way for the dam, which became operational in 1966. 10,000 acres of Seneca ancestral homeland were flooded, forcing the relocation of its residents including 600 Seneca Indians. Johnny cash wrote and performed a song about the incident named AS Long as the Grass Shall Grow. Three years before the dam was complete, in 1963 the company relocated to Virginia.

The center brand for the early bat reads, "SHELDON HANLE CO." enclosed at the top of an oval and "KINZUA, PA" at the bottom, centered by the model number. These bats are suspected to be made before the mid 1930's. One model has been identified, No. A31 "American Ace."

Some time during the 1930's-1940s the company changed the pressed foil center brand and reads, "SHELDON BALL BAT" above the model number and KINZUA, PA.. U.S.A." below. This line of baseball bats that were manufactured include; the "American Ace" No. A72 Ruth Type, No. A83 Medwick Type, No. A77 Greenberg Type, No. A78 Williams Type. "Sheldon Special" No. S74 Gehrig Type, No. S77 Greenberg type, No. S83 Medwick Type, No. S12, Foxx type, No. G68 Doerr Type, Boudreau type, No. S75S, Reiser Type, No. A10, Official Softball," and No. X74,

The Sheldon Handle Co. also made souvenir mini baseball bats for professional, Minor and Major League teams, as well as promotion advertising bats for local retail stores. The souvenir bats have the same center brand but has "Souvenir" in place of the model number, as follows, "SHELDON BALL BAT, SOUVENIR, KINZUA, PA, U.S.A." The Mini souvenir Baseball Bats made for Major & Minor League teams, branded on the barrel include; St, Louis Cardinals, Kansas City Athletics, San Francisco Seals, and the Richmond Virginians.

Sheldon Ball Bat souvenir mini baseball bat

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