Mechanical drawing for the Ollie bat, a skateboard device that allows for manipulating the skateboard to do tricks. It is a black plastic device in the shape of a bat with two holes in each end for attached the device to the skateboard. The device never actually made it to production but is an example of the ingenuity of skateboarders and their desire to continue to innovate their sport. The donor, Michael Alan Hays was the maker of this device.
As curator Joyce Bedi relates, "The “ollie” is one of the best-known tricks in skateboarding. To perform it, a skater jumps straight up while pushing the tail of the skateboard against the ground, forcing the nose of the board up. Attaching the Ollie Bat—invented in the 1980s by Michael Alan Hays—to the front bolts of the board gave the skater more control in “popping” an ollie. Hays prototyped his invention with skaters, taking the design from a straight wooden bar to a plastic bat, “influenced,” he recalled, “by the great advertising for the up-and-coming [1989] film Batman.” The Ollie Bat never went into production; Hays opted instead to attend college."
