August 6, 2020: Summer Auction
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 8/6/2020
From a truly legendary major league slugger in the 1970s and 1980s comes this handsome game-worn cap worn by Dave “King Kong” Kingman during his first tenure with the New York Mets from 1975-77. The cap has the appropriate New Era labeling at the inside back rim; adjacent is the Size 7 ½ tag and Kingman’s No. 26 is written in black marker underneath the brim. The fabled Mets “NY” is embroidered in orange at the front; the cap is in outstanding condition, revealing only a couple of small dings on the top of the brim. Kingman was a lively figure for a number of different major league clubs, most notably with the Mets (twice) and Cubs, where he won a home run title for each – 48 for the Cubbies in 1979 and 37 for the Mets three years later. He was the ultimate “all or nothing at all” swinger, recording 442 homers over his 16 years and adding 1,210 RBI, but striking out enough to lead the league on three occasions. Chided for his .236 batting average in an era a little less forgiving of such things from a genuine power threat, Kingman wound up with one of the best home run per at-bat ratios of his era and still ranks 14th all-time in that department.
Dave Kingman 1975-77 Game-Used NY Mets Cap
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