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LOUISVILLE SLUGGER BAT DATING GUIDE |
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Hillerich &
Bradsby Co. Louisville Slugger has used different oval
center brands in their history. Below are the ovals
from different eras for professional model, top of the
line, and inexpensive store model bats. By matching the
samples with the logo on your bat, you could
approximately date your Louisville Slugger to that era.Variations in branding for 125 professional model bats could narrow down the years, as
described by visiting the link provided. |
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Manufacturing Period
Description |
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| 1888 - 1896 Bat
Label Manufacturing Period |
This is the earliest
label used. The center brand Reads: "JF-HILLERICH & SON" with "MADE BY" above it,
and "LOUISVILLE SLUGGER" at the very top. Below
is a "dash-diamond-dash" line, with "LOUISVILLE, KY. " at the
bottom. The font used and the dash-diamond dash
separates this bat from the bats dated to the
1897-1911 bat manufacturing period.
Bats with the word
"TRADEMARK" below
are loosely dated to 1894-1896, when in 1894,
the name "Louisville Slugger" became the
company's registered trademark. Bats with the word
"COPYRIGHTED" below are
dated to 1888-1893.
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| 1897 - 1911 Bat
Label Manufacturing Period |
The next center brand
Reads: "J.F. HILLERICH & SON" done with "MADE BY" above it,
and "LOUISVILLE SLUGGER" at the very top. Below
is a simple line with "LOUISVILLE, KY. " at the
bottom. All branding has a new font from the
previous label.
Outside and below the oval has the word
"TRADEMARK"
"C0." is
added after "J.F. HILLERICH & SON" starting in
1911. |
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| 1911 - 1916 Bat
Label Manufacturing Period |
Also nicknamed a
"dash-dot dash" bat by collectors this
center brand features the addition of "Co."
and now reads "J.F. HILLERICH & SON Co."
sandwiched between a pair of "dash-dot
dash" lines. There is also a variation with "MADE BY" above "J.F. HILLERICH & SON Co."
with the "dash-dot dash" below.
"LOUISVILLE SLUGGER" is at the very top of the oval with "LOUISVILLE KY.
at the bottom. Outside and below the oval reads:
"TRADE MARK REG U.S. PAT. OFF."
NOTE: "125" first appears in the center brand in 1915 |
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| 1916 - 1933 Bat
Label Manufacturing Period |
In 1916 Frank Bradsby joins the company and
Bradsby is added to the company name. The oval
mow reads: "HILLERICH
& BRADSBY Co."
with the catalog number directly above it.
(pictured is catalog designation 125)
"LOUISVILLE SLUGGER" is at the very top of the
oval. "MADE IN U.S.A." replaced
dash-dot-dash in 1921, and is directly below "HILLERICH
& BRADSBY Co."
with "LOUISVILLE KY. at the very bottom.
Outside and below the oval still reads:
"TRADE MARK REG U.S. PAT. OFF." |
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| 1934 - 1949 Bat
Label Manufacturing Period |
The 1930-1947 Center
Brand remains exactly the same from the period
before but outside and below the oval is
changed and now Reads: "TRADE MARK
REG."
Inside the oval reads: "HILLERICH
& BRADSBY Co."
with the catalog number directly above it.
(pictured is catalog designation 125)
"LOUISVILLE SLUGGER" is at the very top of the
oval. "MADE IN U.S.A." is directly below "HILLERICH
& BRADSBY Co."
with "LOUISVILLE KY. at the very bottom. |
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| 1950 - 1964 Bat
Label
Manufacturing Period |
The 1948-1964 Center
Brand remains exactly the same from the period
before but outside and below the oval is
changed and now Reads: "REG. U.S. PAT.
OFF."
Inside the oval reads: "HILLERICH
& BRADSBY Co."
with the catalog number directly above it.
(pictured is catalog designation 125)
"LOUISVILLE SLUGGER" is at the very top of the
oval. "MADE IN U.S.A." is directly below "HILLERICH
& BRADSBY Co."
with "LOUISVILLE KY. at the very bottom.
The "2" in "125"
aligns directly above the "&" in "HILLERICH
& BRADSBY Co."
on bats made from 1961-1964 |
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| 1965 - 1979 Bat
Label Manufacturing Period |
The 1965-1979 Center
Brand remains exactly the same from the period
before but the Registered Trademark 
is added directly after the words
"LOUISVILLE SLUGGER" at the top. In 1973 the
Registered Trademark
is added over the "d" in Powerized (not shown
here) Outside and below the oval "REG. U.S.
PAT. OFF." is removed and left blank. The
center reads: "HILLERICH
& BRADSBY Co."
with the catalog number directly above it.
(pictured is catalog designation 125) "MADE IN
U.S.A." is directly below "HILLERERICH &
BRADSBY Co."
with "LOUISVILLE KY. at the very bottom. |
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| 1980 - 2012 Bat
Label Manufacturing Period |
The
center brand goes through major changes in
1980. "HILLERICH & BRADSBY Co."
is removed from the oval and is replaced with
"Louisville, Slugger" with the Registered
Trademark
after the top of the lowercase "r" The catalog
number is directly above at the top. (pictured
is catalog designation 125)
"LOUISVILLE, KENTUKY
MADE IN USA"
in small print is at the very bottom.
There are other variations of this label
through 2000-2015 but the sample is just
showing the basic design of the oval. A
breakdown of the different labels will be added
soon. |
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| This 1980-2012 bat labeling period is generalized to the
use of this style center brand. Labels can be can be narrowed
down to smaller eras and I will add the info in the near
future. The 1980-1983 label measures 4 1/2"
across. The 1983-1989 period is the same as
the 1980-1983 center brand but the oval was made smaller, and
measures 3 1/2" across |
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| 2013 - Present Bat
Label Manufacturing Period |
Thirty-three years
since their last change, Louisville Slugger
redesigns their logo.
The closed oval is now open and elongated. The
letters "LS" is squeezed in between the outer
and inner boarders, at the top. the Newly
designed "LOISVILLE Slugger" logo
dominates the oval with the the Registered
Trademark
after the top of the lowercase "r" Below at the
very bottom reads:
"MADE IN THE U.S.A. LOUISVILLE KY." in
small print. |
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| Inexpensive Store Model Bats
with H&B Center Brand |
| Some bats have an H&B logo brand in the
oval trademark, rather than Hillerich & Bradsby - Louisville
Slugger. The H&B brand denotes a lower grade and lower priced
retail bat. These bats were produced since 1932.
The labels pictured below are
dated to the first catalog appearance and could over lap the
new label during the transition year .labels pictured below are
dated to the first catalog appearance and could over lap the
new label during the transition year. labels pictured below are
dated to the first catalog appearance and could over lap the
new label during the transition year. |
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1914 - 1938 Bat
Label Manufacturing Period |
| Before the H&B logo
label, the name of the model appeared in the
center oval, with the catalog number below, and
"MADE IN U.S.A." above. "HILLERERICH & BRADSBY
CO" appeared outside the oval at the top,
"LOUISVILLE K.Y. outside the oval at the
bottom. The oval was sandwiched between two
question mark like (one inverted) ornate
designs. The sample shown is the
"Cracker Jack" No.
02. Other models with this oval design
included the
"Safe Hit" and "Junior League"
models. The earlier bats features a decal on
the barrel. |
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| 1932
- 1952 Bat
Label Manufacturing Period |
| The "H&B" Logo center
brand first appears in catalogs in 1932. Inside
the oval reads: "HILLERERICH & BRADSBY CO." at
the top; "MADE IN U.S.A. " above "H&B" followed
by the catalog number, below. (pictured
is "NO. 9") and "LOUISVILLE K.Y." at the bottom
sandwiched between "f'" like ornate designs. |
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| 1952 -1959 Bat
Label Manufacturing Period |
| This H&B logo
center brand is identical to the previous label
but the catalog number is now above "H&B".
Inside the oval reads: "HILLERERICH & BRADSBY
CO." at the top; the catalog number above
"H&B" followed by "MADE IN U.S.A. " below, and
"LOUISVILLE K.Y." at the bottom sandwiched
between "f'" like ornate designs. |
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| 1959-1960 Bat
Label Manufacturing Period |
| This "H&B" Logo is
redesigned from a simple line to an Italic
script like block type
font. The "NO." that appeared before the
catalog number is no longer used. The
"f'" like ornate design is also removed.
Otherwise it's basically the same as the more
commonly used logo from 1960 to 1979. The logo
was scarcely used for two years, 1959 & 1960. |
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| 1960-1964 Bat
Label Manufacturing Period |
| The "H&B" Logo is
redesigned from a simple line to a block type
font. The "NO." that appeared before the
catalog number is no longer used. The
"f'" like ornate design is also removed.
Otherwise the information in the oval remains
the same. "HILLERERICH & BRADSBY CO." at the
top ;the catalog number above "H&B" followed by
"MADE IN U.S.A. " below. and "LOUISVILLE K.Y."
at the bottom. |
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| 1965-1979 Bat
Label Manufacturing Period |
| This H&B logo center
brand is identical to the previous label but
the Registered Trademark symbol is added
to the right of the "H&B" logo. HILLERERICH &
BRADSBY CO." is at the top; the catalog number
above "H&B" followed by "MADE IN U.S.A. "
below, and "LOUISVILLE K.Y." at the bottom. |
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| 1980-2015 Bat
Label Manufacturing Period |
| The "H&B" Logo and
oval is redesigned . HILLERERICH & BRADSBY CO.
is removed from the top and is replace with the
catalog No. The ampersand (&) is lowered and
halfway below the "H" and "B" witch is also
brought closer together. The Registered
Trademark symbol
is to the right of the H&B logo but now at the
top. "LOUISVILLE SLUGGER" is at the bottom to
the left of the ampersand, & "MADE IN U.S.A."
to the right. |
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NOTES: |
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| What Does the 125 stand
for? - The number that appears in the center brand is
the catalog number, used to order bats. The "125" is the
catalog number designated for Professional and high quality
store model bats. The highest grade of wood is reserved for all
125 baseball bats. Before the 125 the No. 40 was the highest
quality line of baseball bats in the Louisville Slugger
catalog. The 125 is not the model number. Louisville slugger
began using model numbers on the knob in 1943 then moving the
model number to the barrel in 1977. |
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The "Powerized" process was
patented by the Hillerich & Bradsby
Co. in 1931 and has pat. pending
beneath the stamp. They introduced
the "Powerized and Bone Rubbed"
logo for the 1932 season. "Powerized
and Oil Tempered" was only used in
1933-1934. H&B also produced bats
in 1933 & 1934 stamped "Trade Mark
Reg U.S. Pat Off" under the center
brand with "Powerized" alone.
Beginning in 1935 until present,
"Powerized" is used
exclusively. The Powerized" process is to harden the
surface of the bat much like the
bone rubbed finish of the 1920's. A
1938 Louisville Slugger ad states:
"'Powerizing' is a treatment by a
special patented process that
reduces chipping and peeling to a
minimum, increasing the driving of
the bat and prolongs it's life" |
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Hand Boned Rubbed
Trade-Mark Stamp.
Bone-Rubbed is common to
bats made in the 1920's |
"Bone-Rubbed which
closes pores of wood and
gives a harder hitting
surface."
1934 H&B Catalog |
The
"Powerized and Bone Rubbed"
logo stamping is unique to the
1932 season. |
1933 & 1934 "Powerized and
Oil Tempered" is
stamped, usually as a very light heat foil
type print. |
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In 1935 until the present,
"Powerized" is
used exclusivley |
In 1973 the Registered
Trademark
is added over the "d" in Powerized |
Oil Tempered a process used
since the beginning
appeared on the barrel
before migrating to the
oval |
Flame Tempered a process
of drying and hardening the
wood with lower grade
baseball bats. |
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| Hillerich & Bradsby Company Baseball Bat Timeline |
- 1884 Bud Hillerich turns the first
Louisville Slugger bat ever made.
- 1905 Honus Wagner signs a contract
making him the first player to have his autograph on
Louisville Slugger bats.
- 1911 The company name is changed
to “J.F. Hillerich & Son Co.” .
- 1916 Frank Bradsby becomes a
partner. The name of the company
is change to “Hillerich & Bradsby Company.”
- 1916 Hillerich & Bradsby
introduces the "125" line of Baseball bat to the market.
- 1931 The patent is granted for "Powerized" a process
that "reduces chipping and pealing"
- 1970 H&B contracts Alcoa Aluminum Company to
manufacture the first aluminum bat for Louisville Slugger.
- 2006 Louisville Slugger teams up with Major League
Baseball to produce pink bats for professional players to
use on Mother’s Day, raising money for breast cancer
research and inspiring an annual tradition
- 2013 Thirty-three years since
their last change, Louisville Slugger redesigns their logo.
- 2014 Never done in its 130 year
history, Louisville Slugger retires Derek Jeter’s famous
P72 Baseball bat.
- 2016 Wilson Sporting Goods
acquires the Louisville Slugger brand from Hillerich &
Bradsby Co.
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