By Amar Shah

Game 6 of the 1993 World Series featuring the Toronto Blue Jays hosting the Philadelphia Phillies at the Rogers Centre and leading the series three games to two . It's one of the most epic sports endings of all time. For one REA consignor and his father, it was personal.

"He was invited to throw the first pitch," the consignor says about his dad. "Dave Stewart came out of the bullpen to start the game. Joe Carter hit the three-run homer to win the series. When that happens, it's awesome."

The Blue Jays' repeat was a culmination for him as a baseball lifer.

"He just loved the game too much," the consignor says of his father.

His father was an old-school baseball man, with a career spanning almost 50 years in the game. From player to scout, it was a career that stretched from Canada to Caracas, leading to a varied collection of memorabilia.

The consignor’s father was born in 1928 in Canada, where he played football, baseball, and hockey. He was a quarterback and was even invited to try out with the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League (CFL). Instead, he chose baseball.

He played in the Cleveland Indians' organization in towns like Batavia and Cedar Rapids in the late 1940s and early 1950s. His teammates included Roger Maris and Frank Robinson. He even batted against Satchel Paige, almost hitting a home run but ultimately flying out. He was a rising prospect, but was competing directly with two future stars within the Indians organization.

"There were two stars, Al Rosen and Bobby Avila, who were Major League stars at second and third base," the consignor said. "Second and third were where Dad normally played. They said he was really close, and if he hadn't been in the Cleveland organization, he probably would have made it because those Cleveland Indians teams in the '50s were a powerhouse."

After the consignor’s father married in 1957 and had a child on the way, he quit playing baseball professionally but didn't hang up his uniform completely. In 1959, he became a scout for the Detroit Tigers.

"He became a US and Canadian head scout," the consignor says. "The area was Canada, basically. So he traveled around a lot, mostly in Ontario, but he also went to Quebec, British Columbia, and Manitoba."

He even won a World Series ring in 1968 as part of the Tigers team that defeated the St. Louis Cardinals in a thrilling seven-game series.

One of the consignor's favorite memories was attending spring training with his dad. He would journey to Lakeland, Florida, each year for Tigers' spring training, and the ritual became a cherished family tradition. Occasionally, the consignor, his mother, and his sister would fly down to join him, turning these trips into a blend of vacation and baseball immersion. During these times, however, his father was far more than just a spectator.

"He would put on a uniform and work out with the young players," the consignor remembers. "He met many of the Major Leaguers who would make the team that year. Being about the size of Al Kaline, he picked up one of his jerseys that fit him. Maybe he was thinking this guy is a star and maybe I'll grab his jersey and wear it."

In the end, it was the consignor that ended up with Mr. Tiger’s jersey. It remained in his closet for almost 40 years until some friends told him to contact different auction houses, eventually landing at REA.

"Matt Clark (REA Operations Director) said it could be worth a fair bit of money," the consignor said. "I was not so concerned about the money, but it's nice to know that something we've held on to could be worth something."

This jersey was worn by "Mr. Tiger" Al Kaline during Detroit's 1968 World Series championship season. His number 6 was retired by the Tigers in 1980, the first number to be retired in the organization's history.

The jersey, along with a Fred McGriff  game-used bat and a Norm Cash bat, will be featured in REA’s Spring Catalog Auction, which runs from April 5 to April 21.

The father and son pair attended the 1972 World Series that pitted the Oakland A’s against the Cincinnati Reds, whose manager - Hall of Famer Sparky Anderson - was a family friend. The duo also attended the Blue Jays franchise inaugural game in 1977.

Fast forward nearly a decade and a half to the early 1990s, as the Blue Jays were winning back-to-back World Series, and the consignor’s father was scouting for Toronto but found himself down with an illness. In fact, the illness hit him so hard that he needed to be hospitalized. Nevertheless, even though he was in the hospital for the team’s first World Series victory in 1992, General Manager Pat Gillick and President Paul Beeston brought the World Series trophy to him in his room.

"It was a really nice gesture," the consignor says.

The following year, he was throwing out the first pitch in Game 6 of the World Series in front of his family.  

In life, things come full circle. Even though the consignor’s father didn't make the Major Leagues as a player, here he was standing on the game’s biggest stage at last.

"He had a passion for baseball and wanted to stay in it all his life," the consignor says about his dad

He did and it’s a passion that can be felt to this day.

Amar Shah is a multiple Emmy-winning writer and producer who has written for ESPN.com, NFL.com, The Wall Street Journal, The Orlando Sentinel, Sports Illustrated for Kids, Slam Magazine and The Washington Post. In the 90s, Amar was a teen sports reporter and got to hang out with the Chicago Bulls during their golden era. He even landed on the cover for Sports Illustrated for Kids with Shaquille O’Neal. His debut novel "The Hoop Con" is now available with Scholastic. You can order it here:  https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-hoop-con-amar-shah/1143287376?ean=9781338840315