Faded signatures on 1977 Yankees Ball

[mrmopar]

It would have been all about when the balls were made. I was doing some research on the RC Cola iron-on sheets, specifically the A's. I don't recall the specifics now, but the issue period was very small, less than 2 months, given 2-3 of the players featured on the sheet were with the team only for a very brief time. I am not talking games played either, this was from the time they were signed until the time they were traded/released. Just good timing for Kingman to be included probably.

Originally Posted by steve B

That's sooo weird.. Kingman only played in 8 games for the Yankees in 77.

I wouldn't think they had time or inclination to print a souvenir ball with a guy who basically showed up to play DH for the last couple weeks. But there it is.

He did hit 4 homers in his 8 games, including a monster at Fenway.

[steve B]

Originally Posted by mrmopar

It would have been all about when the balls were made. I was doing some research on the RC Cola iron-on sheets, specifically the A's. I don't recall the specifics now, but the issue period was very small, less than 2 months, given 2-3 of the players featured on the sheet were with the team only for a very brief time. I am not talking games played either, this was from the time they were signed until the time they were traded/released. Just good timing for Kingman to be included probably.

That's interesting, a lot of stuff back then was around then not and pretty suddenly.

My thinking was more that by the last couple weeks of the season they had already made all the souvenir balls they were going to make. Kingman wasn't around for 78, becoming a free agent Nov 2. He was only signed on September 15, so he wasn't eligible for the World Series.

I don't know how quick they could get souvenir balls made, but that's a pretty brief window to sell them, unless they carried them over into the spring.