Thurman Munson had but one season of minor league experience before he was called up to The Bronx. In his debut he went 2-for-3 with a walk, RBI and 2 runs scored. The burly catcher never looked back and in 1970, his first full season, he hit .302 and took was selected as the AL's Rookie of the Year. Munson's leadership behind the plate and in the clubhouse led to his being named the Yankees first Captain since Lou Gehrig, an unbelievable honor that he never failed to live up to. Munson's untimely and tragic death in 1979 cut short what was bound to be a Hall of Fame career, yet he remains to this day one of the all-time favorites with Yankee fans.

Paving the way for his debut in August of 1969, Munson’s AA contract from the Manchester (NH) Yankees was purchased by the big club on April 12th of 1969. Munson had spent the 1968 season with AA Binghamton (NY) Triplets of the Eastern League, where he batted .301 in 71 games and 266 plate appearances. The Yankees’ AA team relocated to Manchester and Munson’s contract was purchased to move him to the AAA Syracuse Chiefs of the International League. Munson would play 28 games for Syracuse in 1969 before making his Major League debut on August 8th.

The top of this 8 ½ x 11-inch document reads “Uniform Agreement for the Assignment of a Player’s Contract to or by a Major League Club”. It further reads “This Agreement, made and entered into this 12 day of April, 1969 by and between Manchester Yankees Baseball Co. (Party of the First Part) and NEW YORK YANKEES INC. (Party of the Second Part) Witnesseth: The party of the first part hereby assigns to the party of the second part the contract of Player THURMAN L. MUNSON”. The fee for this was $20.00. Two signatures are below, one representing Manchester and one representing the Yankees. A wonderful document tracing back to the early days of one of the most beloved Yankees in their storied history.

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