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TomTimmerman
09-27-2006, 07:52 PM
I emailed this question to AMI, but haven't received a response yet. Maybe there's a legitimate explanation.

http://www.americanmemorabilia.com/Auction_Item.asp?Auction_ID=32392

The description states:
1986 Ray Knight Game-Used Glove (from World Series)


There were plenty of Mets heroes in the 1986 World Series. Although most fans recall the Buckner error in Game 6, few remember that the Red Sox actually held a 3-0 lead going into the sixth inning before the Mets staged a comeback and, ultimately, a victory. (Game 7 was also a nailbiter, but the handwriting was on the wall.) Ray Knight, whose able work at third base and timely hitting, got the nod as the Series' MVP. After Game 7 (and as the celebration ensued), Knight tossed his glove, cap and a ball to a security guard. That officer gave the ball and cap to friends, but he kept the mitt. Now offered, directly from that long-time Mets security cop, is the glove Ray Knight used in the 1986 World Series. This gorgeous 11 3/4" tan Louisville Slugger 145 Series LeatherLite model G125-10LL glove shows tremendous use, suggesting it served duty through the regular season as well. It's fashioned with a single-post, Double T-Bar web, and a perforated leather back. An orange and black Louisville Slugger designator is sewn into the wrist strap and a circular logo appears near the thumb. "RAY KNIGHT" is embroidered on the thumb in blue. The glove shows consistent game use throughout, and this unique relic will serve to remind Mets devotees how thrilling that '86 World Series was.

100% Authentic/Denny Esken

The book "One Pitch Away" by Mike Sowell contains a chapter on Ray Knight. It begins:
"Sometimes, when he is having trouble sleeping because of his ongoing problem with kidney stones, Ray Knight will get out of bed at three o'clock in the morning and go to the trophy room in his house in Athens [sic], Georgia. There, he might open the trophy case that covers an entire wall of the room and take out the bat he used to hit the winning home run in Game 7 of the 1986 World Series. [Didn't Grey Flannel just auction this bat? Did Ray get rid of it after the book was written in 1995? But I digress].....Or he might take down the glove he used throughout that World Series, just to feel the familiar leather. 'I never used that glove again,' Knight tells visitors to the trophy room."

Hmmmmm.

ironmanfan
09-27-2006, 07:58 PM
I would think that one could photo-match this glove fairly easily (I'm sure all Mets fans have a VHS copy of the '86 World Series).

TomTimmerman
09-27-2006, 08:12 PM
The reason this stuck out to me is because about 10-11 years ago, Christie's had an auction of sports memorabilia including the glove that Knight supposedly used in the World Series. I won it, but it didn't come with any sort of letter of provenance as stated in the auction. Eventually I sent pictures of the glove to Knight and asked him if it was the glove he used. He responded very quickly and told me that he had used that glove in 1985 and the first half of 1986. For the second half of 86 and the World Series, he switched to a different glove. The glove I got from Christie's did not have his name embroidered on the side (like the AMI glove) and it also didn't have the "mesh" on the back of the fingers that appears on the AMI glove. I used the letter from Knight to get a full refund from Christie's (and it only took the threat of legal action to get a refund).

Tom

metsbats
09-27-2006, 09:20 PM
Found this photo from Game 7 of Ray walking off the field after the game. The glove is still on his hand and it does look simliar to the one in the AMI auction.

I can take a look at the 86 METS dvd and see if there is footage of the glove.

Hope this helps.

David

TomTimmerman
09-27-2006, 10:34 PM
For what it's worth, here are the pictures of the glove I bought from Christie's. According to Knight, he used this glove during 85 and the first half of 86. One noticeable difference that might show up in the photos: The AMI glove has the large L in the circle. The 85-86 glove has 125 in the circle. I can't tell from the Game 7 picture what's in the circle.

kingjammy24
09-28-2006, 01:19 AM
i don't know what it says inside the circle either but i do know that it doesn't look like a stark white "L" as in the ami auction. the "L" inside the circle is a bright white that you'd notice if it was in the picture. instead, it looks as if whatever's in that circle is almost as dark as the background, just like the "125" on tom's glove.

knight himself says he has the glove yet we have this whole story of him giving it to a security guard. dennis martinez debuted in september, yet ami creates this story of him debuting in may. someone's taking some classes in creative writing.

rudy.

metsbats
09-28-2006, 06:36 AM
The glove from the photo of game 7 in my opinion looks like it has the "125" rather than the "L" in the AMI glove. I going thru book and will look at dvd to see if I catch anything to confirm. Perhaps you can ping Ray Knight again as he was helpful during the last auction. Nothing like getting information straight from the source.

David

kingjammy24
09-28-2006, 12:28 PM
to illustrate my point that if the glove in the picture was indeed the ami glove then the white "L" would be distinctly visible, i've superimposed the ami glove over knight's glove in the photo. other than coverting the ami glove to the same black & white format as the knight photo, i did absolutely nothing to adjust or manipulate the "L" in the photo. if knight had been carrying the ami glove in that photo, this is how the "L" would show up:

http://img155.imageshack.us/img155/3900/glovedh3.jpg

rudy.

TomTimmerman
09-28-2006, 03:39 PM
Good work Rudy. And I agree. Unfortunately, I wouldn't be surprised if your experiment gets twisted into a perfect photo match!

metsbats
09-28-2006, 04:01 PM
to illustrate my point that if the glove in the picture was indeed the ami glove then the white "L" would be distinctly visible, i've superimposed the ami glove over knight's glove in the photo. other than coverting the ami glove to the same black & white format as the knight photo, i did absolutely nothing to adjust or manipulate the "L" in the photo. if knight had been carrying the ami glove in that photo, this is how the "L" would show up:

http://img155.imageshack.us/img155/3900/glovedh3.jpg

rudy.


The future of photo matches will never be the same!

Nice Rudy!

metsbats
09-28-2006, 06:50 PM
Here's another shot. Shows the back of the glove.

David

metsbats
09-28-2006, 09:56 PM
I just viewed the last out of the 86 WS and during the celebration i was able to view the glove Ray Knight wore off the field. It definitely look like the glove has the "125" in red rather than the "L" in white. In my opinion the glove also look more used than the one in the current auction. I can also tell you the glove was still in Ray's hand as he entered the clubhouse though the auction does not say if the glove was tossed on the field or in the clubhouse but it was definitely with Ray insided.

David

TomTimmerman
10-21-2006, 06:37 PM
Closed at $1299. Oddly enough, my winning bid for a different Knight non-World Series glove (but advertised as used in the World Series by Christie's) was $1265 in October of 1995. Looks like very little appreciation in the misrepresented glove market.

sportscentury
10-21-2006, 07:01 PM
Closed at $1299. Oddly enough, my winning bid for a different Knight non-World Series glove (but advertised as used in the World Series by Christie's) was $1265 in October of 1995. Looks like very little appreciation in the misrepresented glove market.

Tom,

Good stuff! Sounds like misrepresented gloves may not be the place to invest one's money. Thanks for the tip. :)

Reid