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Lot # 850: "Key to the City" Awarded to David Wells for Perfect Game

Starting Bid: $200.00

Bids: 4 (Bid History)

Time Left: Auction closed
Lot / Auction Closed




This lot is closed. Bidding is not allowed.

Item was in Auction "2024 Winter Classic",
which ran from 2/25/2024 10:00 AM to
3/16/2024 10:00 PM



Here is a unique offering: A "Key to the City" awarded to David Wells, given to the left-hander by New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani on May 19, 1998, for Wells' May 17th Perfect Game that he threw against the Minnesota Twins at Yankee Stadium. Wells spent 21 seasons in the Major Leagues, and he was with nine teams, most notably his eight years with the Toronto Blue Jays and his four seasons with the New York Yankees. Wells was a 3-time All-Star who had a 239-157 lifetime record. Known as "Boome,r" a reference to a gushing oil well, the portsider attended San Diego's Point Loma High School, the same high that Don Larsen, the only Yankees pitcher prior to David Wells to pitch a perfect game and still the only pitcher in baseball history to throw a perfect game in the World Series. In the ceremony on the steps of New York City's Hall, then-New York Mayor Rudy Guiliani stated, "David's achievement would not have been possible without the tremendous defensive talents of his teammates: second baseman Chuck Knoblauch deftly handled a wicked one-hop grounder in the eighth inning, right fielder Paul O'Neill hauled in the final out, and, of course, catcher Jorge Posada called the perfect game." Among those present at the ceremony were Yankee manager Joe Torre, Posada, coach Don Zimmer, and Yankee broadcasters John Sterling and Michael Kay. Now symbolic, keys to a city date from medieval times when the key to the city was an actual working key to the locked door of a gated city. The metal, gold-colored Key to the City measures 5.9" long, and 2.25" at its widest. The key itself weighs 3.9 ounces. In raised lettering on the key is, "MAYOR RUDOLPH W. GIULIANI." The handle of the key has the New York City official seal. The key comes in an attractive 4x7x1" display box. On the box is a 0.75x1.5" plaque that reads, "Facsimile of Key made in 1812 For the Door of City Hall, New York." The offered Key to the City would be a singular addition to any sports collection.

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