OAKLAND, Calif. (CN) – A prominent baseball memorabilia collector sued bat manufacturer Louisville Slugger, saying the company dishonestly claimed ownership of a bat belonging to one of the great hitters of the sport’s golden era.
Mark Roberts, owner of the National Pastime Museum, sued Hillerich & Bradsby – which does business as Louisville Slugger – claiming the company stole a bat formerly belonging to baseball great George Sisler that Roberts purchased at auction in October. The lawsuit was filed Wednesday in federal court.
Sisler, known alternatively as “Gorgeous George” or “Gentleman George”, primarily played first base for the St. Louis Browns for a 15-year period beginning in 1915. He actually broke into the major leagues as a pitcher, but his prowess as a hitter meant his manager had to get his bat in the lineup every day.
It proved to be a good move, as the native of Akron, Ohio, hit over .300 in his second year in the big leagues and went on to become one of the finest hitters to ever swing the stick.
In 1917, he hit .353 and stole 37 bases while hitting .341 and stealing a league-leading 45 bases the following year.
But Sisler will be forever remembered for his legendary accomplishments in 1920, which almost didn’t occur because he signed up for the Army in the winter. However, World War I ended in 1918 and Sisler suited up for the Browns that summer, much to the chagrin of pitchers around the league.
That year, Sisler accumulated 257 hits, a Major League Baseball record that would stand for 85 years until Ichiro Suzuki broke it by collecting 262 hits in 2004.
Suzuki, however, had the advantage of playing a 162-game season, whereas Sisler only played 154. Sisler also hit over .400 in 1920, finishing the year with an astonishing batting average of .407, after hitting .442 in August and .448 in September.
In 1922, Sisler hit over .400 again, this time hitting .420, the third-highest batting average for a season in the 20th century.
Sisler is one the least famous players to ever hit .400, overshadowed by the brash mercurial personality of Ty Cobb. Also, 1920 was the year that Babe Ruth hit 54 home runs, shattering the single-season record and earning the adulation of sportswriters and the nation.
Nevertheless, Gentleman George is well-known among baseball history aficionados, which is why securing his original bat would represent a coup for any collector.
To understand the dispute between Roberts and Hillerich & Bradsby, one must go back to the founding of the company. Hillerich & Bradsby’s inception was accidental, according to the complaint, and came about when a young Bud Hillerich played hooky to see his favorite professional baseball team, the Louisville Eclipse, play one afternoon in 1884.
At the game, the team’s star player, Pete “The Gladiator” Browning broke his beloved bat, a la the scene from “The Natural”. Back then, bats were not mass-produced, so when a player broke a bat, they had to use another one, one they were less familiar with, which necessitated a change in grip and could affect performance at the plate.
After the game, Hillerich approached Browning and said that his father could make him a replacement bat at his carpentry shop. So the pair set off for the shop and worked until late in the night when Browning was satisfied with his new equipment.