JOE DIMAGGIO - INSCRIBED BASEBALL BAT SIGNED CIRCA 1950 CO-SIGNED BY: TOMMY BYRNE, WHITEY FORD - HFSID 271574

1950 WORLD SERIES: JOE DiMAGGIO, WHITEY FORD and TOMMY BYRNE
Joe DiMaggio, Whitey Ford, and Tommy Byrne sign a Hillerich & Gradsby K-35 baseball bat that was actually used in Game Four of the 1950 World Series by Whitey Ford and was possibly turned expressly for him. This bat, imprinted with "World Series 1950 Pitchers New York Yankees", was inscribed by DiMaggio "To my good friend and teammate - Best Pitcher - With Warm Personal Regards". "Best Pitcher" wasobviously Ford in his stellar 1950 rookie season. This bat highlights a sometimes neglected era in New York Yankees history - Ford's dominance on the mound near the end of DiMaggio's career - which is usually eclipsed by the start of Mickey Mantle's career.
Baseball Bat inscribed and signed: "To my good friend and teammate - Best Pitcher - With Warm Personal Regards/Joe DiMaggio"; also signed: "Ed Ford", "Tommy Byrne". Hillerich & Gradsby K-35, 35-inch, 30½-oz. Louisville Slugger, actually used in Game Four of the 1950 World Series by Whitey Ford, with block label imprint: "World Series 1950/Pitchers/New York Yankees." This bat was possibly turned expressly for Ford's use. Joe DiMaggio, in the next to last season of his own Hall of Fame career, has inscribed the bat to "Best Pitcher," obviously Whitey Ford in his stellar 1950 rookie season. The New York Yankees' four-game sweep of the "Whiz Kid" Philadelphia Phillies in the 1950 World Series was an unprecedented fifth straight championship for the Yanks and a fitting climax to Hall of Fame pitcher Ford's rookie season. The dovetailing of DiMaggio's career with Mickey Mantle's is well documented, but what's less well-known is Ford's immediate dominance on the mound in 1950 and also near the end of DiMaggio's career, a fact highlighted by this bat. Ford had an impressive rookie season in 1950, beginning with his debut in Boston's Fenway Park on July 1. He completed seven of 20 starts and notched a 9-1 season record with two shutouts and a 2.81 season ERA. At the big dance, he pitched 8 2/3 innings of the clinching Game Four before an appreciative home crowd at Yankee stadium without allowing an earned run. In an era when American League pitchers still had to bat for themselves, Ford went 0-3 in the game, striking out two times. American legend "Joltin' Joe" DiMAGGIO, "the Yankee clipper" (1914-1999), had surged back from painful injuries the previous year for a fine 1950 season, entered the Hall of Fame in 1955. Whitey FORD, "the Chairman of the Board," went on to win 236 games for the Yankees, anchoring the staff through 1967. He entered the Hall of Fame in 1974. Tommy BYRNE did not pitch in the 1950 Series, but played a key role in getting the Yankees there, going 15-9 during the regular season. Byrne, like DiMaggio and Ford, played his entire Major League career with the Yankees (1943-1957). Uncracked bat shows light use, with bat rack and surface marks. DiMaggio's inscription is faint, his signature light. Signatures of Ford and Byrne are bold and clear. Accompanied by PSA/DNA LOA.