Winter Auction 2015 closing February 7
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 2/8/2015
Derek Jeter’s recent retirement tour of the league evoked images and comparisons to the long lineage of Yankees heroes in their final days as players. In the case of Mickey Mantle, Jeter’s last game coincided with the date and location as both played their last big league games at Fenway Park in Boston on September 28, albeit 46 years apart. While Jeter was able to muster a bit of the old Yankee magic down the stretch, hitting a walk-off single in his final game at Yankee Stadium and driving in a run with another single on the final day at Fenway, the Mick’s last games weren’t quite as special. When the Mick was done he was really done. Mantle popped out facing Boston hurler Jim Longborg in his final at-bat at Fenway. And while Jeter was showered with gifts at ballparks across the country during is swan song season, Mantle did not announce his retirement until the following spring which makes the ticket stub to his final game all the more valuable as many of those in attendance had no idea that it would be his last game. This $2.50 grand stand ticket, section 19, row 5, seat 5, for the Yankees game against the Red Sox at Fenway Park on September 28, 1968, represents one of the announced 25,534 on-hand at Fenway that day. Who knows how many of these stubs actually exist? The ticket is ripped just above all of the pertinent information and housed here in a hard plastic slab, accompanied by an 8” x 10” black and white photo portrait signed by Mantle in bold blue sharpie and a gold on black 4” x 11” metal plaque reading: Mickey Mantle, New York Yankees, “The Mick,” 1951-1968, Triple Crown Award Winner in 1956, 52 Hr’s – 130 RBI’s - .353 BA, 3-Time MVP 1956, 1957, 1962, 16-time All-Star, Holds MLB Record for World Series Home Runs 18, 500 HR Club Member – 536, Inducted to the Hall of Fame in 1974. Three-piece display is contained in a 15” x 20” black metallic frame with black matting and comes with JSA/LOA photo certification #Y39623. Ticket is PSA encapsulated and authenticated #15413329.