Casual baseball fans remember Kirk Gibson for his ultra-dramatic game winning home run in Game 1 of the 1988 World Series, but long before that he was the Detroit Tigers superstar, the boy-wonder who in 1984 led the team to their first World Championship since 1968. In that earlier Fall Classic, Gibson had banged out another Hall of Fame moment when his 3-run home run in Game 5 solidified the Tigers’ lead that won the game and World Championship. Four years later Gibson joined the Dodgers where he was the hero of their ’88 championship, then made stops in Kansas City and Pittsburgh before returning to the Motor City in 1993. Gibson spent the next three years putting the finishing touches on his career. 1994 was his swan-song, slugging 23 home runs to add to his final career tally of 255.

This Louisville Slugger was used by Kirk Gibson during the last three seasons of his career when he returned to his roots in the Motor City. The Louisville Slugger S216 model bat shows outstanding game use with a crack in the front barrel. There are many ball marks with stitch impressions located on the barrel along with ball scuffs and ink transfers. Cleat imprints are present along with bat rack paint streaks. The handle has a moderate coat of pine tar and both the barrel and knob ends have Gibson’s famous number “23” in black marker along with “III.” The two-time World Series hero has signed the barrel in bold black marker, making this a very display-worth Gibson gamer. The bat comes with a LOA from PSA/DNA (1B17101) for the game use and has been graded a near-perfect GU 9, plus a COA from Steve Grad of Beckett Authentication for the signature.

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