Dating Louisville Slugger Bats
You have a Louisville Slugger bat in your possession and if it doesn't have something helpful like a player's name engraved on it, you are likely wondering how old it is. Fortunately, the manufacturer made it fairly easy to gauge a bat's age by looking at the logo on the barrel. This guide will show you how to read this logo.
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Instructions
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Look at the barrel of the bat that you are holding. Is there a player's name on it? If there is, you can just match it up to when that player was active in the Major Leagues. If not, look closer at the Louisville Slugger. You will see an oval right in the middle with the manufacturer's info on it. Depending on how this information is presented, you can gauge the age of the bat.
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Hillerich & Bradsby, the manufacturer, varied how the logo looked over the years with the positioning of certain things inside the oval. In this lies the clue to how old the Louisville Slugger bat is. If the manufacturer is listed as "J.F. Hillerich & Son" in the center of the oval, then your bat was made within the years 1897-1911. If it doesn't, then move on to Step 3.
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If the manufacturer logo in the center of the oval reads "J.F. Hillerich & Son Co," note the extra 'Co" at the end, then your bat was produced between the years 1911-1917. After that, it gets just a bit trickier, since the logos look remarkably similar save for some minor tweaks, so take a deep breath and move on to Step 4.
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Bats from 1930-1947 and 1948-1963 both have Louisville Slugger 125, Hillerich and Bradsby Co, Made in USA and Louisville, K.Y. within the oval, but the ones from the 1930-47 era have "Trade Mark Reg." below the oval, whereas the the ones from 1948-63 have "Reg. U.S. Pat Office" below the oval.
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The bats from 1963-1980 have a Registered Trademark next to "Louisville Slugger" and then the ones from 1981 to the present don't even have "Hillerich & Bradsby" in the oval, instead just having "Louisville Slugger" as the dominant branding. If your bat has "Hillerich & Bradsby" at the top of the oval, it's a bat made of lesser wood and was therefore cheaper. This bat was made in the 1920s through the 1970s.
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Tips & Warnings
Look carefully at the logo on the bat. The similarity to some logos can make it a bit tough. If you are absolutely not sure, take it to a memorabilia dealer, who will be able to tell you the bat's age. Be sure to have him or her point out what criteria was used.
