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The towering 6'6" Dave Kingman became one of the most feared sluggers of the 1970s and 1980s. He was one of those players that when he came to bat, everyone in the park stopped whatever they were doing to watch him. He hit plenty of home runs, and he could hit them farther than many had ever seen, once over 530 feet. On five separate occasions he hit three home runs in a game. He made his mark as a slugger early on. His major league debut with the San Francisco Giants was on July 30, 1971, In just his second major league game, the next day, he hit a home run, and he slugged two more a day later. Early the next year, he hit for the cycle, on April 16, 1972. Kingman had his best year in 1979, when he played his first full season for the Cubs, hitting an impressive .288 with a National League-leading 48 homers, as well as 115 runs batted in and 97 runs scored. His .613 slugging percentage was almost 50 points higher than that of the closest National League player, Mike Schmidt. Kingman again led the NL in home runs in 1982 with the New York Mets.
Kingman played his last three seasons as a designated hitter in Oakland, collecting at least 30 home runs and 90 RBIs in each of those years. He also had two remarkable at-bats in this period which didn't result in home runs, but nonetheless added to his legend: in a 1984 game in Minnesota, he hit a pop-up which went all the way to the roof of the Metrodome, but stuck there (for a ground rule double). In a 1985 game in Seattle, he hit a tremendous drive to left field which struck a speaker hanging from the roof of the Kingdome, bounced back and was caught. In his 16-season career, Dave Kingman batted .236, with 442 home runs, 1210 runs batted in, 901 runs scored, 1575 hits, 240 doubles, 25 triples and 85 stolen bases in 1941 games played. He was named to the National League All-Star team three times in 1976, 1979, and 1980.
In a well-known incident, Kingman's bat caused one of the most memorable verbal outbursts in baseball history on May 14, 1978, when a reporter asked Dodger manager Tommy LaSorda about Kingman's three home runs which had just beaten the Dodgers. LaSorda's response showed the frustration opponents often felt when confronted with Kingman's power: "What's my opinion of Kingman's performance? What the **** do you think is my opinion of it? I think it was ******* ********! Put that in, I don't ******* care. Opinion of his performance!? ***** ******, he beat us with three ******* home runs! What the **** do you mean, 'What is my opinion of his performance?' How could you ask me a question like that, 'What is my opinion of his performance?' ***** ******, he hit three home runs! ***** ******! I'm ******* ****** *** to lose the ******* game. And you ask me my opinion of his performance! ***** ******. That's a tough question to ask me, isn't it? 'What is my opinion of his performance?'"
This is a Dave Kingman game-used professional model baseball bat manufactured by the Hillerich & Bradsby Company. It is a signature model with Kingman's name stamped in script on the barrel as he had an endorsement contract with the company at the time of manufacture. This bat has what is commonly referred to as 1983-85 era labeling, which extended into 1986. The Model Number C243 is stamped into barrel of this bat. The bat is unfinished. It measures 35.5 inches in length and currently weighs approximately 32 ounces. A review of Dave Kingman's personal Hillerich & Bradsby factory shipping records documents 3 orders of model C243 bats matching the dimensions (35.5 inches / 32 ounces) and finish (unfinished) of this bat. Those orders were shipped to Kingman during the first half of the 1986 season (5/20/86, 5/30/86, and 7/3/86). The number 26 is evident on the knob of this bat, written in red marker. Kingman wore uniform number 26 with the Oakland A's during his final season, 1986. This bat exhibits a significant number of game use characteristics, including pine tar remnants, hit marks, ball marks, and rack marks. There is a slightly displaced crack on the handle approximately 13 inches from the knob which extends approximately 6 inches toward the knob. A small nail has been used to secure the piece, and another small ½ inch piece has been inset in a bat boy repair.
This is an opportunity to obtain a bat from the final year of Dave Kingman's career – a year in which he put a 35 home run punctuation mark on his sixteen Major League seasons. It was consigned to the auction by Christopher Cavalier.View Lot Detail page