Lot 200

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Description:

Ralph Kiner Hall of Famer and Voice of the Mets, Personally Owned Elgin Gold Watch Money Clip

Ralph Kiner's personally owned unique 10K gold money clip with a working manual wind Elgin watch. The watch face displays "Elgin 19" with the verso indicating serial number one of which is 50966. The back of the money clip has a Thunderbird Country Club Champion insignia and is still housed in the original box. This piece came directly from the Kiner family along with a group of Kiner's personally owned items. An image of some of his other personal pieces which accompanied the watch, inclusive of his signed passport, is provided for review only as additional provenance.

A fantastic piece personally owned by one of the baseball greats. Ralph Kiner made his major league debut in 1946, at age 23, having lost three prime years to service of his country in World War II, and wasted no time in making his presence felt as he led the National League in home runs and established a new franchise record in the process. Before he even played a Major League game, Pirates manager Frankie Frisch proclaimed “Kiner looks like he's going to be the best [outfielder we've ever had”. For a decade Ralph Kiner was the game’s premier power hitter; he was the first National Leaguer to hit 50 home runs twice-- it had only happened twice in the junior circuit, he became the first major leaguer to hit home runs in four straight at bats on two separate occasions, and was also the first major league player to lead the league in home runs in seven consecutive seasons. Baseball’s all-time winningest lefty Warren Spahn proclaimed “Kiner can wipe out your lead with one swing”.Kiner’s star shone off the baseball diamond as well. He was well known in Hollywood circles; he dated starlets like Elizabeth Taylor and Janet Leigh, played golf with James Garner and Jack Lemmon and developed friendships with the likes of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz. On the field or off the field, Ralph Kiner was a star. Back problems forced Kiner off the field for good at age 32. Had he remained healthy, there is no telling what he could have accomplished. Although he was not able to physically compete on the diamond, he didn’t leave the game he loved. Ralph Kiner was a baseball lifer.Upon retirement, Kiner became the general manager of the Cleveland Indians' Pacific Coast League franchise, the San Diego Padres. It was there that he also developed his skills in the broadcast booth. In 1962, the expansion New York Mets hired Ralph to do their television broadcasts, he jokingly recalled “The Mets hired me because they looked at my background with the Pirates and saw that I had losing experience”. Kiner spent more than 40 years in the booth for the Mets and became known to a whole new generation of baseball fans for his “Kinerisms” such as “On Father's Day, we again wish you all Happy Birthday”, “Solo homers usually come with no one on base”, and “Two-thirds of the earth is covered by water. The other third is covered by Garry Maddox”.This unique piece consists of a working Elgin gold watch attached to a 10K rose gold money clip. The Elgin National Watch Company, commonly known as Elgin Watch Company, was a major US watch maker from 1864 to 1968.

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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Shipping

We do our own in-house worldwide shipping!

Applicable shipping and handling charges will be added to the invoice. We offer several shipping options, and remain one of the few auction houses who proudly provides professional in-house shipping as an option to our clients. All items will ship with signature required, and full insurance. Most items are sent via Federal Express, with P. O. Box addresses being sent through USPS. We insure through Berkley Asset Protection with rates of $.70 per $100 of value, among the lowest insurance rates in the industry. Our shipping department cameras document every package, both outgoing and incoming, for maximum security. In addition, we compare our shipping and handling rates against those of other auction houses, to ensure that our charges are among the lowest in the trade.

Upon winning your item(s), you will receive an invoice with our in-house shipping and handling fees included. ***We will ship to the address as it appears on your invoice, unless you inform us otherwise, immediately upon your receipt of invoice***

International shipments: In order to comply with our insurance provider, all international shipments will be sent via Fed Ex and customs paperwork will show a value of $1.00. International buyers should contact our office directly with any questions regarding this policy.

Third Party Shipping Option: If a third party shipper is preferred, the buyer is responsible for contacting them directly to make shipping arrangements. For your convenience, we have provided some recommended shippers. For your protection, we will require a signed release from you, confirming your authorization for us to release your lots to your specified third party Please copy and paste this following link into your browser: http://universityarchives.com/UserFiles/ShippingInfo.pdf. At that point, our responsibility and insurance coverage for your item(s) ceases. Items picked up by third party shippers are required to pay Connecticut sales tax. Items requiring third party shipping due to being oversized, fragile or bulky will be denoted in the item description.

Please see our full terms and conditions for names of suggested third party shippers.


After payment has been made in full, University Archives will ship your purchase within 5 business days following receipt of full payment for item.


Please remember that the buyer is responsible for all shipping costs from University Archives' offices in Westport, CT to the buyer's door. Please see full Terms and Conditions of Sale.

August 19, 2020 10:30 AM EDT
Wilton, CT, US

University Archives

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Bid Increments
From: To: Increments:
$0 $99 $10
$100 $299 $20
$300 $499 $25
$500 $999 $50
$1,000 $1,999 $100
$2,000 $2,999 $200
$3,000 $4,999 $250
$5,000 $9,999 $500
$10,000 $19,999 $1,000
$20,000 $49,999 $2,500
$50,000 + $5,000