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Keymancollectibles.com |
The
Webs Best Recourse for Baseball Memorabilia |
February
11,
2017 |
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Barnacle
Bill
Terry
Model -
H&B
King of
the
Field
Baseball
Bat
Washes
up on
Ireland
Shore |
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A
couple
of
years
ago,
Liam, a
Burren
Shores
beachcomber
located
on
Ireland's
west
coast,
came
across
a most
"unusual
&
special"
find. A
baseball
bat. It
washed
in on
the
beach
right
in
front
of his
home.
Liam
said
"It had
a few
goose
barnacles
attached
which
would
indicate
a long
distance
voyage,
besides
not
that
easy to
come by
one in
Ireland!"
Liam
noticed
that
the
"Bill
Terry
Model"
manufacturer
stamp
was
clearly
visible,
"but
less
so, my
research
tells
me that
Bill
Terry
was
deserving
of
having
a bat
named
after
him."
Referred
to
KeyMan
Collectibles
by a
friend,
Liam
reached
out to
me for
information
on the
bat.
The
"King
of the
field"
No. 13
was an
inexpensive
store
model
bat
sold in
the H&B
catalog
for
many
years.
Using
the H&B
center
brand,
the bat
can be
loosely dated
to the
1932-1952
bat
label
manufacturing
period.
The
earlier
models
made
before
1934
had
"King
of the
Field"
inside
the
center
brand
oval.
In 1935
the H&B
catalog
illustrates
the bat
with
the
"H&B"
center
brand logo.
The bat
is not
listed
in 1938
but in
1939
The
"King
of the
Field"
bat was
then
designated
with
the
catalog
No. 14.
The
Hillerich
&
Bradsby
Co. No
longer
used
the
catalog
No. 13.
This
"Bill
Terry
Model"
King of
the
Field
No. 13
baseball
bat can
be
dated
to
1935-1937.
"Of course there is no way of knowing 100% where it entered the water"
said
Liam.
"I
regularly
find
fishing
gear
from
that
side of
the
Atlantic,
stuff
that I
have
been
able to
trace
back to
its
owner.
Another
indicator
of a
long
voyage
is the
presence
of
Goose
Barnacles,
again I
find
them
regularly
on
debris
&
plastics
from
USA &
Canada."
"The bat was pretty much in the condition you see in the picture when I
found
it
apart
from
the
attached
goose
barnacles,
very
little
else
was on
it. I
let the
goose
barnacles
fall
away in
their
own
time &
the
only
restoration
I did
was
apply a
light
coat of
orange
wood
oil."
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Barnacle Bill Terry King of the Field Beachcomber Baseball Bat |
It is more conceivable that the baseball bat traveled up the Gulf stream
off the
east
coast
of the
U.S.,
across
the
north
Atlantic,
and
drifted
to
Ireland,
than
the bat
coming
up from
France
or
Spain.
I'm not
an
oceanographer
but I
believe
it's a
one way
street.
I think
the
currents
run
south.
Either
way it
was in
the
water a
long
time,
and
found
it's
way to
Liam's
home....."Been practicing my "swing"
said
Liam "it's safely stowed by my bed just in case it
gets
called
into
action..day
or
night.
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