How a Hall of Famer’s iconic baseball bat became an unlikely gift to Pope Leo in one of sports history’s strangest exchanges. DD
Pope Leo XIV grew up a Chicago White Sox fan. He received a historic gift on Thanksgiving Day that was used by a legendary White Sox player.
Pope Leo XIV was gifted a game-used bat that belonged to Hall of Famer Nellie Fox. Fox played 14 seasons for the Chicago White Sox, the team Leo grew up rooting for. Pope Leo was eight years old in Fox’s final season in Chicago in 1963.
Pope Leo was gifted the bat by CBS News Foreign Correspondent Chris Livesay, who was accompanying the pope as part of the press corps on a trip to Turkey. According to Livesay, his cousin mailed him the bat, telling him, “You have to give this to the pope.”
When presenting the bat, Livesay told Leo, “Happy Thanksgiving, it’s a real honor. I bring a family heirloom. This is from my cousin, Jim. This used to be Nellie Fox’s baseball bat. My parents’ generation is from Chicago. It’s got his initials on the [knob] of the bat. When they found out I was going to meet you, they insisted on me giving this to you.”
Upon seeing the bat, Pope Leo remarked, “Oh, wow.” The pope looked at the bat, noting the initials on the knob, and told Livesay, “Thank you very much,” as shown in a social media clip.
Pope Leo was born in Chicago and grew up a White Sox fan. Since his papal appointment, Leo has received various gifts related to the White Sox, including a baseball cap given to him in the Vatican.
According to PSA, “Nellie Fox bats can often be found with tremendous game use. Why? Fox never struck out more than 18 times in a season. He was the ultimate contact hitter and did not crack a lot of bats due to his hitting style; therefore, some of the Fox bats that have survived look like they have been through a war.”
An online search showed that a 1959 Nellie Fox World Series game-used and photomatched bat sold for $9,765 at Lelands in 2020. Another game-used bat, not photomatched, sold for $2,220 at REA, also in 2020.
