Ray Knight's Inscribed Home Run MLB 'Game of The Week' vs. Steve Carlton Used Ball
An official Rawlings National League baseball (Feeney President) attributed to first home run hit by Ray Knight in 1986 World Championship season. One panel contains detailed handwritten inscriptions in blue ink: HR VS. STEVE CARLTON, VETERANS STADIUM, PHILADELPHIA, NBC GAME OF THE WEEK, APRIL 12, 1986.Another panel in Ray's hand proclaims, "1st HR 1986 Season against Steve Charlton (SP)". Historical records for this date confirm the Philadelphia Phillies hosted the New York Mets at Veterans Stadium in a game broadcast as the NBC Game of the Week as broadcast by Vince Scully and Joe Garagiola. During this contest, Carlton allowed a solo homerun to Knight with two outs in the second inning on a 3-1 count. The broadcast team foreshadowed that Carlton might try to fool Knight with a fastball in this situation, but Ray was sitting on the fastball and deposited it over the leftfield wall. Success against the future Hall of Famer Carlton was a Knight specialty as he hit four homers against "Lefty" over his career. The most Ray posted against any hurler in his career. Game used ball with rubbing mud applied and traditional scuffs and abrasions consistently to be found over entire surface. Letter of provenance from the Ray Knight Collection comes with this lot. James Spence Authentication (JSA) provides auction house letter of authenticity on Knight's handwriting and signature that appear on ball.
The Personal Collection of Ray Knight
The Golf Auction is honored to offer the personal collection on behalf of 1986 World Series Most Valuable Player, Ray Knight. This opportunity comes to us through a satisfied previous client of our auction house in LPGA Hall of Famer Nancy Lopez. We had the pleasure of presenting some of the items from her personal collection in our August 2024 offering. Nancy and Ray were the power couple in the 1980s with both rising to the top of professional sports careers in LPGA golf and Major League Baseball. At the height of these careers, they married in 1982. They each supported the others career with Ray often in the gallery at LPGA tournaments and joining together in charity events. Nancy would alter her golf schedule around baseball season to make nearly all of Ray's home games. In the 1986 World Series, Ray would hit .391 and star in the hero's role in game 6 and 7 comeback wins of the World Champion New York Mets leading to his being named that series Most Valuable Player. Nancy was a fan in the stands for all of those games. The '86 season was only part of an outstanding baseball career for Knight that saw him make his Big-League debut in 1974 with the Cincinnati Reds before replacing Reds legend Pete Rose at third base in 1979. A season that saw Knight hit .318 third in the National League as he finished fifth in League MVP balloting. NL all-star team selections followed in 1980 and 1982 before he moved on to the Mets and the heroics of the 1986 season. Ray rounded out his MLB playing career with the Detroit Tigers in 1988 before returning to manage the Cincinnati Reds 1996-97, 2003. Not just a baseball player, Ray excelled at golf, with it reported in 1988 that even won once in the hundreds of matches he played golf with Nancy holing an 18th green putt to post a 72 to 73 triumph.
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