Black Betsy

The bat was hand made by a local fan of the South Carolina mill teams, Charlie Ferguson, out of a bunk from the northern side of a hickory tree.{{cite book|title=Shoeless - The Life and Times of Joe Jackson|last1=Fleitz|first1=David L.|date=2001|publisher=McFarland and Company|location=Jefferson, North Carolina|isbn=978-0-7864-3312-4|url=https://archive.org/details/shoelesslifetime0000flei/page/10 |page=10|url-access=registration|accessdate=29 March 2016}} It was {{convert|36|in|cm}} long and weighed {{convert|48|oz|kg}}. Knowing that Jackson liked blacked bats, Fergerson darkened the bat with tobacco juice. Jackson took the bat to the minor leagues, where the fans often chanted "Give 'em Black Betsy" when Jackson came to bat.Fleitz, p. 15.

Jackson took the bat, his favorite,Fleitz, p. 17. with him when he was sold to the Philadelphia Athletics of the American League. It broke in early 1911, and Jackson sent it to major-league bat manufacturer J. F. Hillerich Company to get it fixed.Fleitz, p. 48. He used the bat for the rest of his major league career.

Jackson kept Black Betsy until his death in 1951. After his wife's death a few years later, it was bequeathed to her cousin and her son, Lester Erwin, who kept the bat on a bookcase for over 40 years. Erwin decided to sell the bat through eBay in 2001. In a 10-day auction, it gathered two bids. The winner, Rob Mitchell, owner of a marketing company in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, won, offering $525,100 plus a 10 percent buyer's premium. It was offered for auction again at Sotheby's on December 10, 2005, with an estimate of $300,000–$350,000, but failed to sell.{{cite news |title=Shoeless Joe's Black Betsy to be auctioned|agency=Associated Press|url=http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/9767832/|work=NBC Sports|date=October 20, 2005|accessdate=August 29, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110429023606/http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/9767832|archive-date=April 29, 2011|url-status=dead}}{{cite web |title=Lot 183: Joe Jackson's "Black Betsy" Game Used Bat From Jackson Estate |url=http://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/ecatalogue/lot.183.html/2005/important-sports-memorabilia-and-cards-n08155 |website=10 December 2005: Important Sports Memorabilia and Cards |publisher=Sotheby's |accessdate=31 March 2020}} An eBay auction in January 2008 failed to attract the minimum bid of $600,000.{{cite web |last1=Mueller |first1=Rich |title=Still No Buyer for Black Betsy |url=https://www.sportscollectorsdaily.com/still-no-buyer-for-black-betsy/ |website=Sports Collectors Daily |accessdate=31 March 2020 |date=January 15, 2008}} On April 24, 2008, it sold at Sotheby's for $301,000.{{cite web |title=Lot 176: "Shoeless" Joe Jackson 1917-21 Signature Model "Black Betsy" Game Bat - Only Known Career Contemporary Example |url=http://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/ecatalogue/2008/important-sports-memorabilia-and-cards-n08434/lot.176.html |website=24 April 2008: Important Sports Memorabilia and Cards |publisher=Sotheby's |accessdate=31 March 2020}}

Sporting goods companies Spalding and Hillerich & Bradsby and Rawlings produced reproductions of the bat for sale to fans, starting in the 1910s.{{cite web|url=http://whatproswear.com/2013/07/28/wpw-throwbacks-shoeless-joe-jacksons-black-betsy/|title=WPW Throwbacks: Shoeless Joe Jackson's "Black Betsy"|publisher=WPW: What Pros Wear|date=July 28, 2013|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140429183555/http://whatproswear.com/2013/07/28/wpw-throwbacks-shoeless-joe-jacksons-black-betsy/|archivedate=April 29, 2014}}{{cite web|url=http://may12.hugginsandscott.com/cgi-bin/showitem.pl?lotno=333|title=1910s-1920s "Black Betsy" Spalding Store Model Bat|date=2012|publisher=Huggins & Scott Auctions}}

The National Pastime Museum, a virtual museum opened in 2013, included a bat described as "the rarest type of 'Black Betsy,' one that once launched many a line drive from 'Shoeless' Joe Jackson".{{cite web |last1=Bartsch |first1=Tom |title=Opening Online: The National Pastime Museum |url=https://sportscollectorsdigest.com/memorabilia/opening-online-the-national-pastime-museum |website=Sports Collectors Digest |accessdate=31 March 2020 |language=en |date=March 19, 2013}} The museum sold the bat at a Christie's auction in October 2016 for $583,500.{{cite news |title='Shoeless' Joe Jackson's game bat is auctioned for $583,500 |url=https://apnews.com/05f299570f314ce8abe0e61977ea9c4b/'Shoeless'-Joe-Jackson's-game-bat-is-auctioned-for-$583,500 |accessdate=31 March 2020 |work=AP NEWS |date=19 October 2016}} The Christie's catalog called it a 1917–21 era Hillerich & Bradsby model, "one of two known professional model Joe Jackson bats, and the only full name script Signature model manufactured by Louisville Slugger that can be attributed to being used by Jackson.".{{cite web |title=Lot 100: "Shoeless" Joe Jackson professional model baseball bat |url=https://www.christies.com/lotfinder/Lot/shoeless-joe-jackson-professional-model-bat-6021447-details.aspx |website=The Golden Age of Baseball, Selections of Works from the National Pastime Museum |publisher=Christie's |accessdate=31 March 2020 |language=en}} In its report on the sale, Associated Press said, "Shoeless Joe's 'Black Betsy' bat is one of two known to survive from his career, and the only one with his full signature in script stamped into the barrel." Lester Erwin responded that the real 'Black Betsy' was the one he had sold in 2001, not the one sold in 2016.{{cite news |title=Former owner says Shoeless Joe bat sold Wednesday not 'Black Betsy' |url=https://eu.greenvilleonline.com/story/sports/2016/10/20/former-owner-says-shoeless-joe-bat-sold-wednesday-not-black-betsy/92480128/ |accessdate=31 March 2020 |work=The Greenville News |date=20 October 2016}}

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{{Chicago White Sox}}

Category:Baseball bats

Category:Baseball memorabilia

Category:Chicago White Sox