Red Sox Bill Buckner's 1986 Glove and Cleats Being Auctioned

The glove and spikes through which Mookie Wilson’s ground ball passed in Game Six of the 1986 World Series will be put up for auction.

It’s been 30 years, but baseball fans of a certain age likely still remember watching the play unfold. The Mets had come from two runs down to tie the Red Sox in the bottom of the 10^th inning of Game 6 of the 1986 World Series. There were two outs and Ray Knight was on second base, having moved up on a wild pitch by Bob Stanley. On a 3-2 pitch, Mookie Wilson hit a slow ground ball to first base as Knight raced to third. Red Sox first baseman Bill Buckner hobbled toward the ball on two bad ankles, but the ball slipped right through his legs. Knight scored to win the game and tie the series at three games apiece. The Mets won the World Series the next night, extending the Red Sox streak of seasons without a championship to 68 years.

Now, 30 years later, the glove Buckner used and spikes he wore during that fateful play are going up for auction. The glove is a black MacGregor model and was autographed by Buckner, who inscribed it to famous collector Barry Halper. Halper’s collection of memorabilia was second to none. His collection contained items that were one of a kind, such as an uncut strip of T-206 cards that included a Honus Wagner. He also had jerseys of the famous trio of Tinkers, Evers, and Chance and a couple jerseys once worn by Shoeless Joe Jackson.

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Halper sold his collection in 1998. Major League Baseball purchased many items and donated them to the Baseball Hall of Fame. Sotheby’s bought the rest of Halper’s collection for a record $21.8 million. Sotheby’s then sold Halper’s collection in 1999. Buckner’s glove and cleats were sold in the 1999 auction, with the glove going for $51,750.

The infamous error by Buckner in Game 6 marred an otherwise fine major league career. The play has been shown so many times over the years that it’s likely that a generation of baseball fans doesn’t know anything else about Buckner’s career. It was one moment in a 22-year career during which Buckner rapped out 2,715 hits and drove in over 1,200 runs. He had a lifetime batting average of .289 and led the league in hitting once and doubles twice. I’m sure he’s thought about that play a thousand times over the last 30 years.

A recent commercial featuring Buckner and Wilson shows that Buckner is now able to joke about the play that sealed his fate in baseball history.

The person who purchased Buckner’s glove and cleats at the Sotheby’s auction has chosen to remain anonymous, but is known to be a fan of the New York Mets. Goldin Auctions is making the glove and cleats available as part of an October Legends collection. The auction opens on Monday and closes on October 29 and the minimum bid for the glove is $25,000 (the cleats start at $1,500). As Goldin Auctions president Ken Goldin said, “This is one of the most famous gloves in baseball history. The only one I could think of that would be more famous is the glove that Willie Mays wore for his famous catch at the Polo Grounds, and that has never surfaced.”

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The actual ball that went through Buckner’s legs in 1986 was once owned by Charlie Sheen. Sheen sold the ball for $64,000 to songwriter Seth Swirsky in 2000. Twelve years later, Swirsky sold the ball for $418,250. It’s likely that the glove and cleats will bring a similar increase in value.

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