MINNEAPOLIS — When Dan Watson and Zak Fellman were 12 years old, they would go into the woods and find straight pieces of wood. They would shave them into bats using pocket knives for home run derbies with tennis balls.
Fast forward 25 years, and the lifelong friends came together to form Pillbox Bat Co., a custom sports memorabilia shop out of Winona, Minn., that pays homage to baseball's history with bats, baseballs and other fan-driven products.
Pillbox is on the verge of breakout success after securing Major League Baseball licensing deals over the past 18 months. The company last month rolled out its first major project under the contract: a series of hardwood pennants for 30 teams.