Posted 5 years ago
SunshineGi…
(1 item)
Came across this item while cleaning out an old closet. Does anyone know if it can still be used? Also, what are the rest of the words carved in the end? They've been warn off and I can't read them. It's a heavy piece. Thanks!
It appears the word "AUTOGRAPH" is on the bottom line, but Why would you want to use it, not knowing what crud is engrained in the wood? This, to me is a display keepsake from your family, as you can buy a rolling pin for pennies at wallmart, or Goodwill?
PS: I would still pursue the name on it, just to add to the history of it! Very Nice!
I never thought about that...thank you very much!
In my humble opinion I believe that what you have here is a rolling pin that somebody re-manufactured from an old wooden baseball bat. The embossed script on the barrel above the word "Autograph" is a copy of the player's real autograph. I can't make out the name in the pic but if you do a search of it I bet you find he was a major league batting leader of his day. A possible explanation is the bat was broken, as many were, and rather than discard it a thrifty person put it on a wood lathe and turned it into the rolling pin it is today. Probably made of ash wood and with a little cleaning with soap and water should provide many years of use. Home Run!
No doubt it`s a baseball bat-- the signature looks like Frank L. Chance. He played from 1898 to 1914, entered the hall of fame in 1946. Old baseball bats are very collectable, too bad about this one, but very cool that it was repurposed! Would be cool to have.
I just googled- Frank L. Chance baseball bat- and found one that sold on e-bay for $1,136.00 last October. The writing was near the center of the bat, so the rolling pin was made from the barrel of the bat, so there is very little taper to that part. The bat on e-bay says Spalding above the name. Please don`t use this as a rolling pin!
Found it- It says GOLD MEDAL above the name and SPALDING above that.
Sunshinegirl7777, would you consider selling or trading?
What a great story to this!!! LOVE IT!
Wow! I would have never guessed the bat part! At this point, I don't think I would sell it since it's one of very few items I have from my family. Thank you so much for all your investigation and hard work. It's so appreciated!
You`re welcome SunshineGirl! It was a pleasure, I never thought someone would make a rolling pin from a baseball bat! It`s funny because I have a friend who collects bats and his wife collects rolling pins! (I hope they never get in an argument, some pretty good weapons!) LOL! keep me in mind if you ever change your mind. Rob