By Jim Ellis
The News-Record
The back of a bleacher seat from historic Wrigley Field, autographed by
Ferguson Jenkins, will be among the items offered during a pair of auctions
that will be held in conjunction with an April 13 that will feature the Hall
of Fame pitcher.
"An Evening with Hall of Fame Pitcher Ferguson Jenkins" will be held at
Miami’s First Christian Church. It¹s a joint effort of the Mickey Mantle
Wood Bat Classic and the Mickey Mantle Memorial Trust.
"We¹ve got some extremely nice things," said Brian Waybright, tournament
coordinator and one of the organizers of the event.
The Wrigley bleacher seat, which includes statistics from Jenkins’ stellar
career with the Chicago Cubs, will anchor a live auction that follows the
dinner.
"I asked a guy with the Jenkins Foundation about the authenticity of it and
he said some (of the seats) still have bubble gum on them,¹" Waybright
said.
Jenkins also has donated an autographed Cubs’ jersey to be auctioned.
Another item of interest is a photograph autographed by the four members of
the 1961 New York Yankees infield < first baseman Moose Skowron, second
baseman Bobby Richardson, shortstop Tony Kubek and third baseman Clete
Boyer. Kubek donated the photo.
Kubek and Yankee pitcher Whitey Ford also have sent autographed baseballs.
Other items on the block in the live auction include bats from last year’s
Mantle Classic that were autographed by Goose Gossage, one from the 2004
Classic and six from this year’s tournament, which runs April 10-14, and
three original pieces of watercolor artwork by New Jersey graphic artist
David Pucciarelli.
"We have some things that are extremely exciting," Waybright said. "There is
no question about the authenticity of the infield photo since it came direct
from Kubek. The Ford and Kubek baseballs in themselves are really cool since
they were sent here specifically for the Mantle Classic."
Some of the items which will be available at a silent auction are a
Pucciarelli photo of Mantle’s childhood home in Commerce, a Mantle cap
donated by Mickey Mantle¹s Restaurant in New York City, a Sports
Illustrated-designed pewter statuette of Mantle, baseballs autographed by
Yankee pitcher Don Larsen, Johnny Blanchard, Tresh and Gossage and a 2006
Baseball Hall of Fame yearbook that includes four admission tickets to the
Cooperstown, N.Y., landmark.
Tickets for the banquet are $40 each and are available at the News-Record
office (14 1st NW), at Commerce City Hall, Commerce High School, The Gym or
the L&M Convenience Store in Commerce.
Corporate sponsorships are available.