June 21, 2017 Summer Games Catalog Auction (#48)

Lot #389:

1972-73 Willie Mays New York Mets Game-Used Cleats (Sourced From Mets Museum • Equipment/Clubhouse Manager LOA)

Black leather cleats with the player number “24” (faded) written on the inside tongue of each cleat. Metal spikes on the bottom. The inside soles are faded. These cleats are properly tagged, were presented to us as game-used and in our opinion, show appropriate use. These cleats are accompanied by an copied LOA from Ron Taylor, who was an equipment/clubhouse manager for the Lynchburg Mets from 1976-87. “The parent club, the New York Mets sent their used equipment to their farm clubs each year...I unzipped a ball bag marked game balls that had come from them and found inside a [...] pair of baseball shoes marked #24 on the tongues...I feel certain that the baseball gear I discovered that were all marked with his name and number must have been mistakenly stored in the ball bag back in the early 70’s and forgotten about until I opened it in the Spring of 1976. They have been in my possession until now.” The LOA comes with a description plaque from the Mets museum that reads, “GETTING A LEG UP - Legendary outfielder Willie Mays spent the last of his 23 Hall of Fame seasons with the Mets, and ran around the Shea Stadium diamond that summer in these vintage cleats.”

Please note that a correction and/or update has been made to this lot since its original posting.