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THBNewly Uncovered 8/17/1973 Willie Mays Signed & Inscribed Adirondack Pro Model Bat Game Used to Hit Final Career HR #660 - PSA/DNA Photomatch & GU 10
Timed Auction in Progress ... Currently on Lot Bid Increments
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About Auction
TimedNov 6, 2024 - Nov 23, 2024
SCP Auctions, Inc. customerservice@scpauctions.com
View Full Catalog (601)
- Lot Description
The late Willie Mays concluded his legendary career with 660 home runs – a number automatically linked to the “Sey Hey Kid” in our subconscious. For decades, the bat used for this milestone has remained an unsolved mystery…until now. SCP Auctions is proud to present Mays’ 660th career home run bat – photomatched and authenticated by PSA/DNA – to the hobby, a recent discovery with a twist of fate that makes for one heckuva tale.
The story lies at the intersection of two ballplayers with little else in common – Willie Mays, arguably the greatest all-around player in history, and Jim Beauchamp, a journeyman first baseman and pinch-hitter – when they landed on the New York Mets in 1972. It wound up being the last stop for each in their MLB playing careers.
When Mays was dealt from the San Francisco Giants to the Mets in May of ‘72, he was making $165,000 per season when the average player salary was $34,000. The trade gave the Giants $100,000 in cash and a pitcher named Charlie Williams. For Willie, it brought him back to his beloved New York City where he began his career with the New York Giants 21 years earlier. The Mets promised him long-term security (at least a three-year contract as a coach when his playing days ended) and a return to the spotlight in the Big Apple. At the time, Willie had 646 homers, a lifetime average of .304 and 3,187 hits. As Willie's teammate and close friend Ed Kranepool put it, "Willie was loved in New York. Hank Aaron was a great player, but he didn't have Willie's flair." The king of the city had come home.
To say New York fans were excited to welcome Willie in a Mets uniform was an understatement. But for the 25 players in the Mets locker room who learned of the trade as they prepared for a double header against the Dodgers, their anticipation tinged with fear. They knew someone would be dropped to make room for Mays. For Jim Beauchamp, a baseball lifer acquired by the Mets before the ’72 season, such trepidation must have hit especially hard since he was currently wearing the #24 jersey that Willie had made famous in New York going back two decades. Manager Yogi Berra could be heard telling the equipment manager, "You'd better get 24 off Beauchamp."
But Jim was already way ahead of Yogi. When Willie entered the locker room, Beauchamp calmly walked over, his #24 jersey in hand, and said (as told by Beauchamp to his son), "Willie, would you like to have this number? I think you've earned it. I've always liked number 5 anyway." Delighted, Willie shook Beauchamp's hand and thanked him. The next day when Beauchamp showed up to his Shea Stadium locker, he found that Willie had surprised him with a brand-new set of Hillerich & Bradsby golf clubs. Beauchamp would later teach his son, Kash, to play golf using these same persimmon wood clubs, but for the time being this kind gesture forged the start of a great friendship between the future Hall of Famer and the utility journeyman. The two soon became bridge partners on the road (against Tom Seaver and Ray Sadecki) as Willie could barely step outside the team hotel without being mobbed by fans.
On August 17, 1973, the Mets hosted the Cincinnati Reds on a Friday evening at Shea. Willie entered the game with 659 career home runs. He batted third in the lineup and played first base that night. At age 42, Willie would often seek a slightly lighter bat than his own, so before the game (according to Kash Beachamp), he told Jim, "I'm tired, let me use your bat.” Of course, Beauchamp obliged, "Sure, Willie."
After flying out in the first inning, Mays was due up second in the bottom of the fourth. Facing Reds lefty starter Don Gullett with one out and the bases empty, Willie drove a high fly to right-centerfield that cleared the wall for a solo shot and broke a scoreless tie. It would be the Mets’ only run as they fell in 10 innings, 2-1. (The last out was made by pinch-hitter Jim Beauchamp.) On a subsequent at-bat in the game, Mays broke Beachamp’s bat. As the Mets bat boy was just about to toss it into the dugout trash, Ed Kranepool said (according to Kash Beauchamp), “Hey Jim, that's your bat. You better grab it. Might be Willie's last homer."
At the time of home run #660, Mays was third on the all-time list behind Babe Ruth and Hank Aaron. That same August 17th summer night in ’73, north of the border in Montreal, Aaron hit his 703rd career homer for the Braves. After hitting #660, Mays played in 12 more regular-season games and had five singles. In the ‘73 postseason, he had three hits in 10 at-bats, but no home runs. And to think his final career HR bat was almost thrown out and lost to history. Thank God for Ed Kranepool!
Jim Beauchamp kept this bat in his locker for the remainder of the 1973 season. That September, Mays announced that he would be retiring at season’s end, and Jim had Willie autograph it before they parted ways. Beauchamp was released by the Mets in March of ’74. Two decades later, while serving as bench coach for the Atlanta Braves, Jim had Willie sign a letter on Braves stationary to further cement the bat’s authenticity. The bat was displayed as a trophy in Jim’s gun case for decades. It was eventually willed to his family after he passed away in 2007 and has stayed with Beauchamps ever since.
The Adirondack ‘331A’ professional model bat weighs 33.2 ounces and measures 35” in length. John Taube of PSA/DNA recently authenticated the bat and gave it a perfect GU 10 grade. Use is described as “outstanding” with “slight checking from repeated ball contact on the back barrel.” Ball marks, ink transfers, and stitch impressions cover the back, left and right sides of the barrel. There is a slight handle crack and a heavy coat of pine tar from the handle to the centerbrand in a manner typical of how Mays prepped his bats in that era. The knob end has Beauchamp’s stamped model number (“331A”) along with his jersey number (“5”) in faded black marker and the bat’s weight in blue ink. A Willie Mays autograph and inscription reads "To Jim, Best Wishes, Willie Mays, 1973" on the front barrel, having almost completely worn off over the years. PSA/DNA has conclusively photo-matched the bat to Mays’ final career home run 8/17/1973 at Shea Stadium. Includes full PSA/DNA paperwork for the GU 10 grade, photo-match and Mays autograph, along with the letter of provenance signed by Willie Mays himself.
Considering the explosion of the game-used category in recent years and the increased demand for Mays material since his death this past June, a bat of this historical significance could easily approach the mid-to-high six figures. It’s truly one-of-a-kind with a charming story, impeccable provenance, and indisputable authentication.
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