July 24, 1983 New York Yankees (vs. Kansas City Royals) Full Ticket PSA EX-MT 6 - George Brett "Pine Tar" Game!

Sold For:

$2,160

Year:

1983

Auction:

2024 Fall

Lot #:

2638

Category:

Post-1900 Baseball Memorabilia

Graded EX-MT 6 by PSA. Full ticket for the infamous "Pine Tar" game between the New York Yankees and Kansas City Royals on July 24, 1983, at Yankee Stadium. This is one of only a few full tickets from this game that we have seen, and just the third we have ever offered in the past 20 years. On July 24, 1983, in a game against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium, George Brett hit a dramatic two-out, two-run homer in the top of the ninth off reliever Goose Gossage to give the Royals a 5-4 lead. Immediately afterwards, Yankees manager Billy Martin complained to plate umpire Tim McClelland that the pine tar on Brett's bat exceeded the maximum length by rule (seventeen inches from the handle) and that the home run should be disallowed and Brett called out. McClelland agreed and when he called Brett out it set off one of the wildest "rhubarbs" in baseball history. Brett charged from the dugout like a crazed lunatic and might have killed McClelland had the other umpires not physically restrained him. Today, that scene of Brett bolting out of the dugout is one of the most indelible images in baseball history. The Royals later protested the game and it was upheld by American League president Lee MacPhail. In the resumption of the game, twenty-five days later, the Yankees failed to score in the bottom of the ninth, thereby giving Brett, if not the most memorable game-winning home run in history, certainly the most controversial. The ticket (6 x 1.5 inches) displays light handling wear. Opening Bid $1,000.