"Missed it by THAT much"
 

If you remember the 1960's TV show "Get Smart", you've heard "Missed it by THAT much" said many times by the inept Maxwell Smart whenever he almost did something right.

That's what I thought about when I saw the photo shown below.

As collector's, most of us like to add things of some historical significance to our collections. Depending on our collecting focus and budget, that may mean different things to different people. From the things we enjoy seeing here on N54 some of you have truly amazing historical artifacts from the 19th century onward. Thankfully, there are many things which have some degree of historical significance yet are still very affordable to the average collector.

Then we have the near misses, like the one below. If you've been collecting for a while, you've probably come across memorabilia that for one reason or another is close to being significant...it just "misses by that much". Which of course makes it either insignificant or at best much less desirable.

That's what I would like see in this thread. Show us your items like someone's 499th HR stub, a scored program to some star player's 2nd game, a ticket stub to a 1-hitter, a wire photo or older re-strike of a photo you wish was a Type 1, etc. Maybe you have something that is likely to have historical significance, but is lacking solid provenance. Things that make you say "I'd really have something special here if only..."

And if you have a good story to go with your item, please share that too.

I'll start off with this recent pick-up of a press photo from the Yankees game of 4-17-1951. Mickey Mantle's debut. The only problem is that Mickey is not in the picture!

http://i997.photobucket.com/albums/a...psv0dk1bsm.jpg

http://i997.photobucket.com/albums/a...ps1tayu56h.jpg

Harmon Killebrew, career HR #2, scored program

Hank Aaron, career HR #701, scored program

Close, but no cigar...
 

Here is a ticket stub to Cy Young's historic 1st attempt at becoming the first and only pitcher to win 500 career games.
I love this ticket even though I missed the big milestone by a smidge...

Oh so close!

Willie Mays hit career HR #499 in the same game that saw Ernie Banks hit career HR #401, but I don't have that one scanned.

Nice Doug. Thanks for contributing. I knew you would have some good ones to share. :)

No hitters and perfect games lost in the 9th inning or later
 

Many of you know that I collect tickets to no-hitter games.
This thread really feeds into another collecting theme of mine which is tickets to no-hit and perfect games that were lost in the 9th inning or later. At some point along the way, I thought this might be a fun side collection. At present I have tickets to over 100 games that were oh, so close.

Perhaps the most famous of these games is the Harvey Haddix near-perfect game. Haddix is the 1st and only pitcher to carry a perfect game into the 13th inning, only to lose. Many consider this to be the greatest game ever pitched, which it probably was.

Here is a scan of a rare ticket stub to this game as well as my scored program.
Enjoy! Happy New Year to all at net54.

WOW!!!!!

Scott, that program is amazing. I may start pestering you about working some sort of trade...

The legendary Marichal / Spahn 16 inning duel on July 2, 1963 is the other game that would elicit that sort of response from me.

Amazing program. Congrats.

Doug

No hitters and perfect games lost in the 9th inning or later
 

Great stuff Scott. I was thinking of you when I wrote "ticket stubs to 1-hitters" in my OP. Tickets to over 100 "oh so close" games is awesome, as is the Cy Young ticket.

When you are a ticket collector you get close a lot!

Early Wynn Win #299

Lefty Grove Win #297

Jimmie Foxx HR #501

Cal Ripken Streak game #2

Mickey Mantle's "last" game
 

I started this with a press photo from Mickey Mantle's first game. A photo which did not include Mantle.

Here's a program to the last game in which Mickey Mantle was on the active roster. Unfortunately, he did not play in this game! The last game he played in was the day before this.

The game of 9/29/1968. Partially scored.

http://i997.photobucket.com/albums/a...pscs2aagwl.jpg http://i997.photobucket.com/albums/a...psm2oqetjt.jpg


I also have a program to the next-to-last game in which he played on 9/27/1968

http://i997.photobucket.com/albums/a...psupj2jd08.jpg http://i997.photobucket.com/albums/a...psap1qnfsr.jpg

Thanks Doug! I would love to find a ticket to this game. BTW, I do have a completely scored scorebook in my personal collection from this game that came from the Lena Pontier collection. Here are some photos of the scorepages.
BTW, I had Juan Marichal sign this. He smiled when he signed it & check out his inscription.
I regret that I didn't get a chance to have Warren Spahn sign it before he passed

Amazing items!!!

I have a program scored from Jackie robinsons first hit BUT 2nd game played!!!!!

This piece is slightly different than what we've seen. It's a scorecard for the "correct" game, but in that game the 1904 Highlanders missed winning the AL pennant by THAT much. This may be the only existing scored program for Jack Chesbro's infamous "wild pitch" game, October 10, 1904.

http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j2...psd3gwh2l1.jpg

http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j2...psjapdk56z.jpg

http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j2...pspj4dpxcj.jpg

Scott, you're killing me.

One of my personal Holy Grail items has been the lineup card to the first Red Sox game I ever attended as a child (June 14, 1989). I've been searching high and low for years and pulled out most stops I can think of. It's basically a needle in a haystack and I've made my peace that getting it will be a longshot, at best. The one from the day before, however, is there for the taking:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/152343390731...%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

Loving those programs. Thanks to Jack and David for theirs.

Still in awe of Scott's posts.

Continuing the trend, here is career HR #2 for Harmon Killebrew from June 26, 1955.

2nd career win for Sandy Koufax, Sept 3, 1955

If I were you, I would buy that one, maybe when you find the game you want the guy will trade for the one from the day before.

Doug

Nolan Ryan, 2nd career appearance, game 1 of the Sept 18, 1966 doubleheader in Houston

David - I love that Highlanders program. I've haven't seen many. Cool to see a heart breaker like that one.

Doug - Keep 'em coming!

aphanna25 - I agree with Doug...buy that one. At least you'll have a personal "missed by that much" item. Never give up on the real deal.
Thanks for posting; it reminded me of my first game. I wish I could remember the date, but it was Mets vs Pirates in 1967.

Even funnier, I suppose, with the "missed it by that much" theme is the item is located in the town abutting where I live. So I can buy the card the day before my Holy Grail, from the town right next door. You can't make this stuff up.

Not a big time ticket collector, but I do have a full ticket from what was supposed to be the first game at Miller Park, Opening Day 2000. Then the terrible accident happened.
I also have one from the actual first game, Opening Day a year later.

I also have a ticket from the first game played at Turner Field. An exhibition against the Yankees, March 1997.

This is not as near a miss as the others, but I wanted to include this one.

I showed the program for "Mickey Mantle's last game" at Fenway Park, which was actually the Yankees last game of 1968, but Mantle did not play. In fact, according to "The Last Boy", he wasn't even in the ball park that day.

So it is ironic that this faux "Ted Williams last game" item would be for Boston's last game of the 1960 season at Yankee Stadium. A game in which Williams did not play, and was not even at the stadium.

http://i997.photobucket.com/albums/a...pssetlz2hl.jpg


I happen to like Opening Day and last game of the year tickets. Of course, I know I would not have been able to buy this for a few dollars if it really was Williams' last game.

I have a ticket from what was scheduled to be the first night game at the present Yankee Stadium (the building without a soul which was built on parkland stolen from the neighborhood).

https://c2.staticflickr.com/4/3555/3...b991fc74_b.jpg

Unfortunately, the game was not played because of weather... but that makes this a ticket to the first game to be rained out at the facility.