Babe Ruth 500th HR bat off Willis Hudlin - autographed letter
ernie11
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It is estimated that the bat used by Babe Ruth to club his 500th career home run will auction for around $1 million - if any of you want to bid, be my guest!
I can't afford that bat, so I have to be content with the next best thing - an autographed letter by the pitcher, Willis Hudlin, who served up that home run. Hudlin was 91 years old when I got this letter in 1997, so his handwriting is hard to read, I'll translate:
"The Babe had his good years about the same time that I had mine. Yes he hit his 500 HR off me 8/11/29 in Cleveland. It was a sinker ball that he hit. The Babe did not have much luck vs. me. In 9 years he only got a total of 5 HR's off of me. With all good wishes, Willis Hudlin".
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P.S. Hudlin slipped a decade, he dated his letter 1987 but it was really 1997.
Here is the article.
https://usatoday.com/story/sports/mlb/2019/10/16/babe-ruths-bat-used-for-500th-homer-hits-auction-block/40329401/
Great story. Very cool letter. Thanks for sharing.
The location of where the Babe hit this HR (League Park in Cleveland) is still around and it's cool to see where he hit it over the right field fence
IMF
Neat story! Thanks for sharing!
Nic
Guides Authored - Graded Card Scanning Guide PDF | History of the PSA Label PDF
Apparently Ruth gave the bat to a friend 15 years after he hit his 500th homerun. But wouldn't you need to mark the bat somehow to remember all those years later exactly which bat was used on that exact day. And the letter doesn't mention anything about this bat. I would be interested in seeing what a 3rd party has to say...
https://kennerstartinglineup.blogspot.com/
Great letter and piece of the game's history; I always love to glimpse the game from the players' perspectives.
Saw a piece on the 500HR Ruth bat in the news; I am making a lotto ticket run today.
Instagram: mattyc_collection
https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/28304698/babe-ruth-500th-homer-bat-sells-more-1-million