This lot is closed. Bidding ended on 12/6/2006.
"Managing is getting paid for home runs someone else hits." That was Casey Stengel in a nut-shell. Maybe ahead of his time, Casey Stengel was a baseball managing visionary of sorts. Casey managed for twenty five seasons in Major League baseball from 1934 until 1965. Stengel won seven championships for the New York Yankees in a span over 10 years, but will forever be engraved in Mets' fans hearts for bringing respectability, and a National League baseball team, back to New York's Polo Grounds. The New York Mets were created in 1962 and needed an established face to give the franchise some credibility. Casey Stengel was the right man for the job. Although the Mets had a slim chance of winning many games in the early years, Stengel brought the franchise a sense of levity and warm hearted newspaper material. Though his "Amazin'" Mets finished last in a 10-team league all four years, Stengel remains today as one of the top personalities in club history. This official "McAuliffe" New York Mets cap was worn by Stengel in the early days following the club's birth. The exterior of the cap is in the Mets blue, with the New York Giants resembling "NY" stitched in orange in the front. There is a slight area of color distortion on the right side of the cap.The underneath bill of the cap is a green fabric which has a rip of about 1 1/2 inches long. The bill of the cap is missing a piece of cardboard where the rip is underneath the cap. The border of the cap is a light brown leather material which goes around the entire hat. There is a slight tear of the leather lining just past where the bill meets the top of the cap. The title of the cap is the "Pro KM Cap" which is embroidered with the cap "7 1/8" size on the right inside back of the cap. The hat shows wear with the white inside lining deeply faded. The cap comes with an additional LOA stating how the cap was obtained from Herb Norman, the NY Mets equipment manager.