The writer is in his mid sixties
https://www.bostonglobe.com/20...ood-dies-every-week/
“I hit my first Little League home run with a powerized Hillerich & Bradsby Al Kaline Louisville Slugger.”
This hit home. I played LL in this era. Louisville Slugger was the dominant bat. The only other option was Adirondack or local brands almost no one used. We didn’t bring bats. We used what was in the bat bag. The Kaline, Rose, Clemente and Yastrzemski were essentially the same bat. I used whichever one wasn’t broken.
Wood was all there was. We saved our own bats for the daily pickup games. If the bat broke screws and/or duct tape was the only fix until the next trip to the sporting good store. Duct tape worked on the balls too.
A friend broke a hitter’s batting helmet in half when he hit him in the head. The helmet was so old and dry it just exploded. That was when you knew the team needed a new helmet. No one checked before the season. Just haul out the bag from storage.
I remember my mother going nuts because I used a game ball from a no hitter in a pick up game. Hey! Can’t play without a ball. By the time I was fourteen any ball I got for LL homers or no hitters was just a ball.