Ted Williams' Pre War .38 HE

[runscott]

Last night I picked up a hand-written Ted Williams letter from 1938 which mentioned his meeting a member of the Seattle U.S. Treasury Department pistol team (P.M. Chapman) on a train. Chapman and his teammate Lee Echols, each had just won matches using .22's. This got me curious about what Williams shot and some googling led me to a 2012 auction of his firearms. The only Smith & Wesson was this one, which went for $3,000:

Auction Description: Ted Williams presentational Smith & Wesson Pre War .38 Hand Ejector pistol with photographic provenance. Serial number 658505. Also known as the M&P or Military Police Model, it is one of the most famous handguns ever manufactured by Smith & Wesson. Its roots date to the old swing out cylinder models from the late nineteenth century. This example dates to the early-mid 1930s, the height of the era of the Chicago gangsters. One of the most popular handguns used during this era by both sides of the law. It is chambered for the venerable .38 special. It exhibits approximately 97% of its original factory blue finish. The trigger and hammer retain most of their original bone case hardened finish. It sports the commonly found 6" barrel and comes with a pair of dark walnut diamond grips that have the matching serial number stamped into the right panel that remain in excellent condition. The bore is perfect as is the action which locks up tight as new. The lot includes a vintage original photograph picturing Williams receiving the gun on the field at Fenway Park from a representative of Smith & Wesson. Very fine period firearm with desirable photographic provenance: EX

 

[deyomatic]

Didn't he have his own line of guns from Sears or Woolworth's or something?

 

[runscott]

His name was on all sorts of Sears sporting goods equipment - mostly fishing and hunting, but also weight-lifting and other things.

 

[murphydog]

Cool gun. Sears had the Ted Williams brand, at least some were Winchester products.

 

[THE PILGRIM]

Here's Ted enjoying some AF Hospitality after he crash landed in Korea at K-13, Suwon.
Is that the same gun or is he carrying a Marine issue?

 

[Muley Gil]

Here's Ted enjoying some AF Hospitality after he crash landed in Korea at K-13, Suwon.
Is that the same gun or is he carrying a Marine issue?

Looks like a Victory model. I can see the lanyard loop on this one.

A buddy of mine bought a Ted Williams M54 lever action .30-30 new from Sears. It had a forearm cap instead of the carbine band on the Winchester M94. For some reason, the action was smoother than a M94 that another friend bought at about the same time.

 

[larryofcc]

An american hero, Mr. Williams was asked by the sports writers," what is your most famous accomplishment?" His answer, "being a United States Marine!" Truly one of baseballs best, and a United States Marine too. Ted, if you are up there, Semper Fi Marine. Big Larry

 

[runscott]

Here's the letter and the clipping that Williams included:

Written by Ted Williams in 1938 as a 19-year old minor league player with the Minneapolis Miller, to childhood friend Johnny Lutz who he described as the best shooter he had ever seen. He signed his first minor league contract (with San Diego) on the Lutz family kitchen table.

 

[BigBill]

I have a sears ted willians 20ga semi auto shotgun. It was my brothers who passed away.

 

[Jimmy4570]

Yessir. A genuinely great outdoorsman, sportsman and warrior... Would that there were more of them receiving the proper attention from today's society...

 

[Green Frog]

At its peak, Sears had the ability to have any item imaginable manufactured and branded with one of their own brand names... and they did. Although i've never actually seen one, I've been told there was even a run of S&W 44 Magnums made for and branded as a Sears product. Two of their more popular names for sporting goods were the Ted Williams brand as well as JC Higgins. Some of the manufacturers I can say with certainty built guns for the Sears brands were Winchester, Marlin, Mossberg, and High Standard. The had enough volume sales power to demand very favorable terms from their suppliers... sometimes to the great detriment of said suppliers. The GCA of 1968 stopped mail order sales of guns in general and at the same time made handgun sales less profitable for Sears, so the outcome of that was to really put a hurt on High Standard.

The last couple of decades have not been kind to the venerable Sears company... although they practically invented mail order marketing and could have been Amazon while Amazon was just a river in South America, they seem to have had management that remained committed to brick and mortar stores and deemphasizing their "Big Book" catalog sales that could have easily transitioned to the Internet. Maybe they will emerge from their current problems, but they've already sold off some of their iconic brands (such as Craftsman) so they will essentially have to take their battered name and reinvent themselves. I wish them luck, but have my doubts. Thus endeth the lesson.

Froggie

PS Can anyone confirm the story about a Sears branded Model 29, or is that just an urban legend?

 

[ShivasIrons]

Sears was an amazing company. I have a Sears House not too far from me. Amazing to think that in the early 1900s you could order a house from a catalog and have it in a couple days.

Sears leaderships critical mistake was they thought people would never shop on the internet.

 

[THE PILGRIM]

The 'best' Sears- JC Higgens firearm I ever saw was a FN made Browning type rifle.
It was a 270 and a Cousin had it.
I still have my Sears 20 GA Single Barrel.
The last Sears gun that I bought was a LH Savage 110 in 338 Mag.
I bought it from a Chicago reseller.
When I received it, the inside original factory carton was addressed to Sears.

 

[silentflyer]

Bet he never "took a knee" when the National Anthem was played..

 

[Texas Star]

Here's Ted enjoying some AF Hospitality after he crash landed in Korea at K-13, Suwon.
Is that the same gun or is he carrying a Marine issue?

The gun is clearly a Victory Model, std. for Navy and Marine aircrew, in a typical shoulder holster. A ship's rigger has sewn ctg. loops to the shoulder strap, a frequent occurrence.

I don't know if this was done on request by pilots, or if some carrier air groups just had it done to all issued holsters.

Which planes did Williams fly? Did he reach rank higher than captain?

 

[DWalt]

Virtually everything sold by Sears was Sears-branded with one of their house names (Kenmore, J. C. Higgins, Ted Williams, Craftsman, Allstate, etc.). I remember reading something to the effect that the first item sold in Sears stores that was not branded as such in some way was the Polaroid camera. Sears really didn't have any stores until the late 1920s, all their business until then was through their catalogs. Sears was a major supplier to the U. S. military during WWI and even sold kit houses and cars. Sad to see it going. When I was growing up, Sears and Montgomery Wards were the only gun stores in my home town.

"This example dates to the early-mid 1930s, the height of the era of the Chicago gangsters."
Not quite. The SN on Ted's M&P makes it more likely as shipping in early to mid-1940, could be as late as early 1941. Too bad there is no date on the presentation photo. I wonder who was the "representative from Smith & Wesson?"

 

[larryofcc]

The gun is clearly a Victory Model, std. for Navy and Marine aircrew, in a typical shoulder holster. A ship's rigger has sewn ctg. loops to the shoulder strap, a frequent occurrence.

I don't know if this was done on request by pilots, or if some carrier air groups just had it done to all issued holsters.

Which planes did Williams fly? Did he reach rank higher than captain?

Corsair F4U and Jets in Korea. Not sure what kind. Big Larry

 

[Club Gun Fan]

My Father-in-Law met him when Ted toured Savage Arms in Westfield Mass. He said a one hour tour lasted all day. He met everyone that wanted to say hi.

 

[NewSport]

Ted Williams

Pretty sure he flew a Grumman F9F Panther fighter jet in Korea... He was evidently considered an excellent pilot who flew in both World War 2 and Korea... A true American patriot and superb athlete...

 

[DWalt]

He would be a good subject for a bio movie. Was there ever one made?