Wonderboy Lives

Inspired by a Bernard Malamud story, this giant baseball bat was made from a 120-foot-tall spruce tree after lightning struck it on July 2 in Oneonta, NY. Property owner Martin Patton decided to create a giant model of the famed bat "Wonderboy," carved from a tree struck by lightning, in the book and movie “The Natural.”

You can read the whole story here, but here are the facts:

• cut down to 50 feet tall, first for safety, then to match the shape of the fictional bat;
• done by woodworker Hal Macintosh;
• 11 feet around the base, with a 6-foot end cap that was to be attached;
• Patton said his wife is submitting documentation of the bat to the Guinness Book of World Records.

All-Star Bat

I'm told that the home of this giant baseball bat, the Dubliner in St. Louis has been a favorite watering hole of thirsty visitors for many years. Walking by during an All-Star trip, I didn't have a chance to stop in, but was impressed by the paint job.

Thanks to Tom for the phone pic.

A Mighty Wallop

We've had this pic, "Both Carry a Mighty Wallop," in our collection for some time, as seen at Lelands, but today we were sent the link to its twin on the Getty website:

With the following caption:
"NEW YORK - APRIL 15, 1933. Babe Ruth poses with Jack Dempsey and a large baseball bat before opening day at Yankee Stadium on April 15th of 1929. (Photo by Mark Rucker/Transcendental Graphics, Getty Images)"

I think it's pretty cool that they had April 15 of 1933 before 1929. Who can blame them? Things in 1933 weren't so hot and '29 probably sounded worth aiming for. Though I don't know why they didn't go back to '27, or even '20, while they were at it.

Anyway, whoo, that's a big bat. The ol' Bambino needed the heavyweight ex-champ, The Manassa Mauler, to hold it for him. But that was nothing new.

The two had been lovers for some time, and didn't care who knew.













OK, want something else cool? How about British newsreel footage?



t/c: Tom