The Los Angeles Dodgers entered the 1988 World Series as the indisputable underdogs. With their best hitter, Kirk Gibson, hobbled by two bad legs, the Dodgers were facing the formidable bats of the Oakland A’s Jose Canseco, Mark McGwire and their Cy Young award-winning reliever Dennis Eckersley. Game One went as expected, with the A’s carrying a 4-3 lead into the 9^th inning. Then, with Eckersley on the mound and one Dodger on base, the Dodgers sent Kirk Gibson in to pinch-hit. After an excruciating seven-minute at-bat, Gibson reached a full count and then launched one into the right field seats, slowly limping his way around the bases for one of the most memorable home run trots in World Series history. Now that it was proven that the A’s could be beat, the Dodgers cruised to a four games to one victory over Oakland.

This 12-inch tall scale model replica of the Commissioner’s Trophy created by the Balfour was presented to Dodgers coach Joe Ferguson. The classic design features 28 gold colored pennants labeled with the names of every Major League team circling a golden crown on top of a golden band with a silver baseball set at the base of the ring’s interior. Oakland A’s and Los Angeles Dodgers press pins are mounted on smaller golden poles in front of the crowned band. “LOS ANGELES DODGERS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP TROPHY PRESENTED BY THE COMMISSIONER OF BASEBALL OCTOBER 20, 1988  JOE FERGUSON” is printed on a gold band circling the 23” diameter black wooden base. The trophy shows some light surface wear from age and display, most noticeably on the silver baseball at its center and on the brass band mounted to its base. The nut holding the crown to its support band is missing but this piece stays secure when statically displayed due to its weight.

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