Dodgers News: Jackie Robinson’s Bat Found At Garage Sale

Pieces of history from Dodgers’ legend Jackie Robinson’s career can be found in the most peculiar places. While most pieces can be found at Dodger Stadium and in baseball museums, they can also apparently be found at garage sales in Iowa.

In 2013, Bruce Scapecchi found a unique wooden bat that was mixed in with aluminum bats underneath a table at a garage sale. The unique grip of the bat caught Scapecchi’s attention, especially with the $1 price tag attached to it. The Des Moines native told the garage sale organizer to take a lead pencil to the barrel of the bat to reveal the name which had been rubbed off.

Sure enough, his suspicions were confirmed when the name Jackie Robinson appeared on the barrel.

42. pic.twitter.com/8pklF2kCCS

— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) April 15, 2019

Prior to Scapecchi making the discovery, the bat had made itself a contributing member to the family it belonged to. Jackie Robinson’s bat grew up with Sue McEntee’s children, as they used it to play baseball in the backyard.

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Interestingly enough, the bat that belonged to the man who broke baseball’s color barrier was not in the McEntee household by accident. McEntee’s uncle was a teammate of Jackie Robinson.

Joe Hatten was a left-handed pitcher who played for the Brooklyn Dodgers for six seasons, five of them with Jackie Robinson.

“She said ‘And yes he was one of the few players that would room with Jackie’ and I just thought that was incredible,” -Bruce Scapecchi

The $1 price tag that was attached to the unknown Robinson bat could easily be one of the lowest prices for a Jackie related item. In 2013, a game-worn glove that was believed to have been used during the 1955 and ’56 World Series appearances by the Brooklyn Dodgers was sold for $373, 002.

Jackie Robinson Tributes Around the League

For this year’s Jackie Robinson day, players around the league paid tribute to the legend with a No. 42 jersey and custom cleats.

Jackie Robinson Day began in April 2004 and is observed annually across baseball on April 15th.