2019 October Legends Closing October 19
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 10/20/2019
Presented is a game program and ticket stub from July 24, 1979, the last game the late Thurman Munson played in Yankee Stadium. The “World Champions New York Yankees 1979 Scorebook & Official Magazine” has a four-page insert scorecard for the New York Yankees vs. California Angels series of July 24, 25, 26, 1979. This program book is accompanied by a purple ticket stub for the July 24, 1979 game.
That day, a Tuesday, the Yankees beat the Angels, 6-5. Munson played catcher, with one walk, a strikeout, and a flyout. During the game, Munson injured his legs during an awkward tumble to avoid an inside pitch from Angels' pitcher Mike Barlow. Although the Yankees played two more home games against the Angels on July 25th and 26th, Munson did not see game action on either evening. Although the July 24th contest was unremarkable at the time, it would turn out to be Thurman Munson’s final New York Yankees home game. The Yankees then went on the road for a six-game trip from July 27th - August 1st through Milwaukee and Chicago. Munson primarily played either first base or designated hitter as a result of his injury.
Munson died on August 2, 1979 while practicing take-offs and landings with a flight instructor at the Akron-Canton (Ohio) Regional Airport. Munson played 11 seasons for the Yankees, from 1969 until his death in 1979. A seven-time All-Star, Munson had a career batting average of .292 with 113 home runs and 701 runs batted in. He became the Yankees' starting catcher late in the 1969 season, and after his first complete season in 1970, in which he batted .302, he was voted American League Rookie of the Year. Considered the "heart and soul" of the Yankees, Munson was named captain of the Yankees in 1976, the team's first since Lou Gehrig. That same year, he won the AL Most Valuable Player Award, making him the only Yankee to win the Rookie of the Year and MVP Awards. As captain, Munson helped lead the Yankees to three consecutive World Series appearances from 1976 to 1978, winning championships in the latter two years.