Cobb's old duck hunting buddy on Walpole Island in southern Ontario, just a two hour drive from the city of Detroit, became the beneficiary of this spectacular war club, toted north from Navin Field to Canada, where it remained until it was purchased from his family by a collector in 1968. The unique characteristics of the Hillerich & Bradsby center brand on this signature model beauty allows expert John Taube to narrow the potential range of production to a two-season span, a period that saw the aging Peach still outworking the youngsters, averaging .339 with two hundred hits per season. We see strong evidence of that productivity in the punished grain of this thirty-four and a half inch weapon, with a constellation of ball marks, stitch marks, green bat rack streaks and tape repair of a cracked upper handle. Even more importantly, Taube's detailed letter of examination locates key Cobb traits in the physical record, notably the scattering of cleat marks typical of his lumber, brown residue attributable either to tobacco spit or Neet's Foot Oil (each used by Cobb to season his bats), and grip tape at the lower handle that is separate and distinct from the repair tape above. Clearly this was long and faithful companion to the most prolific hitter of the game's first century, one responsible for a considerable portion of the 4,189 hits on the Peach's tally. It should be noted that an included 2008 letter of provenance recounts that the owner of the duck hunting lodge stated that Cobb noted that the bat was used to record some sort of milestone when it was originally gifted to his family, however the specifics have been lost to history. Historic milestone achievements were not followed nearly as closely in this period as they are today but given that the bat dates to the 1923-24 seasons, one distinct possibility is that this could be the very bat that Cobb used to pass Cap Anson's career mark of 3,435 hits to become baseball's new Hit King in 1923. The anachronistic repair tape at upper handle is considered the only deviation from perfection according to Taube's examination, placing this example at the upper reaches of the pre-war lumber hierarchy. It's a relic that exudes the same gritty determination that made a poor kid from the dirt farms of southern Georgia one of the most iconic athletes in American history. If you're looking for a tangible symbol of the American Dream, you've found it here. LOA from PSA/DNA, GU 9.5. Letter of provenance from friend of man who acquired bat from hunting lodge.
