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.

Lee Smith earned his 311th career save on October 1st, 1991 during the St. Louis Cardinals 3-1 victory over the Montreal Expos at Busch Stadium in St. Louis. Smith pitched a scoreless ninth inning, allowing zero runs on two hits, with two strikeouts to preserve the victory for the Cards and earning his 46^th save of the season. This Official William D. White baseball was used during this game and Smith signed his name in blue pen on the side panel. Please note that the part of the “L” in Smith’s signature is smudged. The ball shows excellent game use with various scuff marks and bat imprints and inscriptions on this ball in black ink include “Save #46”, “10-1-91”, “Montreal 010 000 000 –1” and “Cardinals 201 000 00X –3”. This game used and signed baseball comes with a LOA from Lee Smith, who in his LOA states that this ball has been in his personal collection.

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