Nov 6, 2024 - Nov 23, 2024
Latin American hero Roberto Clemente collected exactly 3000 hits before his life was tragically cut short by a plane crash on Dec. 31 1972 at the tender age of 38. The Puerto Rican outfielder played all 18 seasons of his Hall of Fame career with the Pittsburgh Pirates helping deliver World Series titles to the Steel City in 1960 and ‘71.
Featured here is a high-grade Hillerich & Bradsby U1 professional model bat used by the perennial All-Star and Gold Glover during the 1965-68 period. After a down season in ’65 (by his standards), the star right-fielder put together two of the finest all-around campaigns of his career. Career highs in homers (29), RBI (119) and runs (105) earned Clemente his only National League MVP award in 1966. He followed that up with a career-best .357 batting average to earn his fourth and final NL batting title.
The 36” ash bat now weighs 37 oz. and remains uncracked with outstanding evidence of use. There are ball contact marks, stitch impressions, and cleat marks on all sides of the barrel. The only blemish is a tiny chip on the front barrel. The smooth knob so identifiable with Clemente gamers has the bat’s weight (“38”) penned in green on the end above the “U1” model stamping. A wonderful exemplar from Clemente’s prime, the bat has been graded a near-flawless GU 9.5 by John Taube of PSA/DNA and includes its corresponding paperwork.
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