George Herman Ruth was an American original, baseball’s quintessential slugger and the most celebrated athlete of all time. He was the prototype of the modern superstar whose unparalleled feats on the diamond were only matched by his gargantuan appetite for life off it. Ruth’s natural talent and boundless charisma made him a tremendous drawing card throughout the league and, not surprisingly, the highest-paid player of his generation. He was the first to hit 30, 40, 50, and 60 home runs in a season, and his propensity for majestic power forever changed how baseball was played. Acquiring a bat once wielded by the Great Bambino is a milestone achievement for any collector.

Recently graded and fresh to the hobby comes this superb Babe Ruth game-used bat dating to the 1923-25 period when the Sultan of Swat was in his Roaring 20s prime. In a fairy-tale career, Babe’s banner year may have been 1923 when he won his only AL MVP award and led the New York Yankees to their first World Series championship as a franchise. That year, Ruth batted a career-best .393 and led the league with 41 HR, 130 RBI, 151 runs and 170 walks for a mind-blowing 1.309 OPS and 14.1 WAR. The big guy even stole 17 bases. In 1924, he won his only batting title with a .378 average and again led the AL in homers (46), runs (143), OPS (1.252) and WAR (11.4). An injury-shortened 1925 campaign limited his numbers.

The Hillerich & Bradsby “Pre Model” bat is one of the lighter H&B versions Babe used from 1923-25 as it now weighs 36.4 oz. having lost about an ounce and a half from natural aging. It measures 35.875” which is typical of Ruth’s bat lengths from that era. According to H&B records obtained by bat authenticator John Taube, six Ruth orders during the 1924 season noted “lgt. wgt.” requests. The ash bat with a lovely medium brown patina exhibits outstanding use with numerous ball marks on the left barrel and slight checking (grain separation) from repeated contact. There are blue bat rack streaks from the upper handle to the center brand. Evidence of adhesive remnants on the lower handle indicates it had previously been taped in a spiral pattern, a bonus feature not often still visible on Ruth gamers.

The museum-worthy bat retains wonderful display quality and survives as a special memento from Babe's glory years. John Taube of PSA/DNA given it a GU 8 grade on his included paperwork, noting the H&B order record details and the typical 2-4 oz. drop in weight for century-old lumber.