June Premium Card and Memorabilia auction ending June 26-27
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 6/27/2021
This lot closes on June 27, 2021 at 10:00 PM EDT for initial bids. When former closer Lee Smith retired from baseball in 1997, he was the all-time saves leader with 478. Only Trevor Hoffman and Mariano Rivera finished with more career saves than the big righty from Louisiana. Drafted by the Chicago Cubs in the 2nd round of the 1975 MLB Amateur Draft, Smith made his debut with the “Northsiders” on September 1, 1980. His 18-year career saw him pitch for the Cubs, Boston Red Sox, St. Louis Cardinals, New York Yankees, Baltimore Orioles, California Angels, Cincinnati Reds and Montreal Expos.
The Hall of Fame closer was a longtime coach in the San Francisco Giants farm system, where he had served as a roving pitching instructor and eventually linked up with the Double-A Shreveport Captains, which was close to his hometown of Jamestown, Louisiana. In 2002, the San Francisco Giants were once again the best in the National League as they appeared in the World Series for the first time since 1989. The Giants went tooth-and-nail with the Anaheim Angels, who eventually defeated San Francisco in seven games to win the title.
Offered here is the very 2002 San Francisco Giants National League Championship ring presented to Hall of Famer Lee Smith. This 10K gold ring has a large black stone on the top with the interlocking “SF” logo in the center filled with small cz stones. Surrounding the top is “NATIONAL LEAGUE CHAMPIONS GIANTS” in raised gold lettering with two larger cz stones. The left shank has an array of banners honoring the team’s past National League pennants, while the opposite shank has “SMITH” on the top in raised relief, with an image of the Giants ballpark below and “San Francisco” and a paraph at the bottom. The inside band is stamped with a “10K” engraving. This ring is a size 15 ½, weighs approximately 50.59 grams and is in good overall condition. Accompanying this ring is a dark wood 5 x 7 x 3 ½-inch hinged presentation box with a gold-colored plate on the top that has engraved “2002 NATIONAL LEAGUE CHAMPIONS GIANTS Lee Smith”. This comes with a LOA from Lee Smith.