the 5th ghost Posted March 15, 2005 Share Posted March 15, 2005 I recently aquired an unusual Atari releated item, I'v never seen one before. It's a baseball bat, Pro Louisville Slugger, with the Atari logo printed at the fat end next to Bill Madlock's signature and Pittsburgh Pirates logo. I'm guessing this is from the early 80s. Does anyone else have one, or from a different team? What's the story with this bat? Thanks for any input Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattG/Snyper2099 Posted March 15, 2005 Share Posted March 15, 2005 Post a pic, never heard of this one... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the 5th ghost Posted March 16, 2005 Author Share Posted March 16, 2005 Will do...soon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atari kid Posted March 19, 2005 Share Posted March 19, 2005 never herd of one Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the 5th ghost Posted March 31, 2005 Author Share Posted March 31, 2005 Ok, here is the picture as promised... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kyle Posted March 31, 2005 Share Posted March 31, 2005 WOW! Is that for real is some kinda joke!?!?!? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HawgWyld Posted March 31, 2005 Share Posted March 31, 2005 If it's a joke, it's a damned good one. That's great! Man, I hope that thing's for real! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kyle Posted March 31, 2005 Share Posted March 31, 2005 As a huge atari and sports fan i'm jealous as hell over that bat!! Damn i want it!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mindfield Posted March 31, 2005 Share Posted March 31, 2005 At a guess, I'd say it was probably bat day, and was sponsored by Atari. Very cool item! And if it's not real -- you're a day early. :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the 5th ghost Posted March 31, 2005 Author Share Posted March 31, 2005 Hi everyone, I had to chuckle when I read the responses It's real all right. I'm thinking along the lines of what Mindfield said, this might have been given away during a bat day sponsored by Atari at what was then Three Rivers Stadium. Based on the Bill Madlock signature, I'm guess circa 1980, but that's an educated guess. As you can see, this thing has been well used. A friend of mine found this bat at a local flea market and bought it for me because he knows I collect Atari items. What I'm wondering, is if there were bats with other Pirate player signatures on them. Anyway, I'm glad to finally get this picture posted so that everyone can check it out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+KaeruYojimbo Posted March 31, 2005 Share Posted March 31, 2005 That is unbelievably awesome! Bill Madlock was with Pittsburgh from 1979-1985, which is almost exactly the timeframe that Atari would be doing something like sponsoring a bat night. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red 5 Posted March 31, 2005 Share Posted March 31, 2005 I would have to agree with the others here on the 'bat night' theory. 98% of the time the give aways at ball parks are ruined by the sponsors. For instance, cap night is always great, but the back of many of my 'cap night' yankee hats say 'Hitachi' or 'Fleet Bank' which really ruins it for me. I have a great statue of Lou Gherig with 'Hormell' stamped into it... great... However, an Atari Logo is fantastic! Sponsoring a 'bat day' in Pittsburgh is kind of weird for Atari to do, but that looks pretty real to me ! I wonder if they sponsored an other giveaway days at any other parks. Probably close to impossible to find that information out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D.Yancey Posted March 31, 2005 Share Posted March 31, 2005 I had a bat exactly like that one (minus the Atari Logo) that I won as a prize in a Little League Baseball fundraiser. I think we sold light bulbs or maybe Hershey bars. I can't remember which fundraiser that I got the bat for. I remember that you could pick 28, 29 or 30 inch bats when we selected from the prize catalog. This would have been about 80 or 81, so the time was the same. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HawgWyld Posted March 31, 2005 Share Posted March 31, 2005 Sponsoring a 'bat day' in Pittsburgh is kind of weird for Atari to do... Not really, when you consider how popular the Pirates were at the time with the World Series win, the "We are Family" stuff and all that. Pulling for Pittsburgh back then was rather like pulling for Boston today -- they were the former underdogs making good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stingray Posted March 31, 2005 Share Posted March 31, 2005 Super neat item! -S Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heavy-sixer Posted March 31, 2005 Share Posted March 31, 2005 I live about 30 miles outside of Pittsburgh and I actually found 2 of these bats on separate occasions at a flea market in Latrobe, PA. This was maybe 4 or 5 years ago. I sold them on Ebay and really didn't get much for them. They weren't mint or anything but a neat Atari item. I kind of wish I hadn't sold them. Maybe I'll find another one this year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+KaeruYojimbo Posted March 31, 2005 Share Posted March 31, 2005 Sponsoring a 'bat day' in Pittsburgh is kind of weird for Atari to do Why is it so odd? You mention Yankees caps sponsored by Hitachi, which certainly isn't based in New York and has about as much to do with major league baseball as Atari does. It's just another way for the company to get its name out to people. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MayDay Posted April 1, 2005 Share Posted April 1, 2005 Yeah, we know a lot about promos here in KC... at least 12 every month for the Royals, which ends up being a lot of sponsored products. In fact, the Royals give away their best players in a giant promotion every year about June-July. First you have the Johnny Damon, Jermaine Dye, and Mike Sweeney bobbleheads, then you give away the real player to one special grand prize winner. *mutters incoherently*. If the Pirates c1980 were anything like the Royals c2000, then there was probably a limit to the first 20,000 fans or so. Of course, not even all of the 20,000 are probably given away. I'm sure most of them were played with by kids and no longer exist in any recognizable condition. You could always check with the team itself, I'm guessing the marketing department may have a history of long-past promotions. I'm so glad I grew up a Cardinals fan... I caught a lot of smack in my 1985 Kindergarten class, but I'm the one laughting now! Okay, not really, as the Royals are (were) my second favorite team when I finally forgave them for cheating us about 10 years later... n/m, I still haven't forgiven them. Salary cap, anyone? Oh, and one last off-topic note. My boss at work had an ingenius idea for a game, when he heard I was working on Atari stuff. "All-Steroid Baseball League". I might work on a Pete Rose hack when I get some more time! -JD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kencrisis Posted April 1, 2005 Share Posted April 1, 2005 Although I don't really follow baseball, that's a cool Atari item! I fondly remember the bat days my dad took me to when I was a kid for the Dodgers and Angels. Do they still have bat days today? I would think that would be pretty ironic/hysterical if they did, what with all the terror phobia and backpack checking. "You can't bring that backpack in, but here's a weapon with a fun corporate logo." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
video game addict Posted April 1, 2005 Share Posted April 1, 2005 "You can't bring that backpack in, but here's a weapon with a fun corporate logo." I thought this had more to do with their fear you might actually sneak past beer or some sort of food product... And not buy their $11 hotdogs & $7 waters. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+KaeruYojimbo Posted April 1, 2005 Share Posted April 1, 2005 I think it's mini-bat night now, but who the hell wants a mini-bat? Those are even more worthless than those annoying inflateable stick people pound together. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lifeguard Posted April 4, 2005 Share Posted April 4, 2005 Thats a neat item. I saw a Atari golf putter on ebay about 2 years ago. I wonder how many other sporting good related items were put out by the promotions or marketing departments. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mister_pal Posted April 5, 2005 Share Posted April 5, 2005 wow that is one cool bat . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
video game addict Posted April 17, 2005 Share Posted April 17, 2005 I wonder how many other sporting good related items were put out by the promotions or marketing departments. Well you can add this one to the ever growing list. I guess Atari must of really loved Pittsburgh! Check this auction out! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ehenciak Posted April 18, 2005 Share Posted April 18, 2005 I wonder how many other sporting good related items were put out by the promotions or marketing departments. Well you can add this one to the ever growing list. I guess Atari must of really loved Pittsburgh! Check this auction out! 838455[/snapback] Atari probably would have LOVED Pittsburgh in 1979-1980 seeing that the Pirates won the WS in Oct. 79 and the Steelers won their 4th Super Bowl in Jan. 1980. We were the city of champions and the economy was nothing short of booming! However, that was probably the last of the glory days for Pittsburgh sports/economics aside from the glimmers of hope in the early 90s. Shortly after the 80 Super Bowl, the steel industry collapsed and everyone moved away. For a while there, this market was HUGE and loaded with disposable income all things being equal. Now, however, the city is simply rusting away .... however, our stadiums totally kick ass!!! (sarcasm) I think 17 people showed up at PNC Park the other day ... In fact, if you want to bid on the 66 story USX Tower (that Tah-wer in dahn-tahn), you can! From what I understand, they might be shutting it down soon! You can probably get it cheap, but the taxes will murder you. I love it here since its my home, but I'll probably be moving later this year since the job market for chip designers SUCKS! That should allow someone to get even more games at the Eastland flea market and thrift stores in the South Hills ! I felt like Sum Guy that one day when I nabbed a 5200 Do's Castle at a thrift I hadn't been to in years.... Also found a Waterworld at Eastland a year or two ago in a box of games for $10 (beware of the crazy woman that lurks indoors selling games)! At any rate, nice find! If you want to sell it, PM me ! It'd be nice to have a Mad Dog bat with an Atari logo...he was a steal from the Cubs! Ed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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