Description:

Kiner Ralph

Ralph Kiner on Babe Ruth, Joe Namath, and Hank Aaron, During His "Kiner's Close Up" on CBS

 

Total of 13 pages all done in Ralph Kiner's own hand and originating from Kiner himself. Signed numerous times by Kiner within the body of his notes, in his sign-off salutation as "That's Kiner's Klose Up for tonight …" or "…Be with us every week nite at this same time for another Kiner's close up …". Penned in ballpoint on legal-size yellow pages, 8" x 12.5". You will pour over them for hours. A one-of-a-kind, 13pp treasure with numerous corrections, folds, margin notes, and more--a true working manuscript for his program "Kiner's Close Up", airing every week night on CBS.

 

Kiner's career began as a Major Leaguer, however it would span only 10 years due to a back injury--but he made those 10 exceptional years count. Kiner was the Babe Ruth of his day, minus the drinking, carousing, and absenteeism. His homerun hitting prowess in a sport in which statistics and records are everything earned him two distinctions that remain to this day-- Kiner holds the Major League record for homeruns in the first five seasons of a career and led the National League in homeruns for a record seven straight seasons, doing so on the perpetually putrid Pittsburgh Pirates. He slugged over 50 homeruns in a season twice in an era in which the only performance enhancer was a dark cup of coffee.  Ralph Kiner, made it in to the  baseball Hall of Fame, but then was fortunate to  enjoy a half-century career as a popular broadcaster. He had joined the broadcast crew of the Mets for their expansion season in 1962 and earned a permanent place--the home TV booth at Shea Stadium was named in his honor.

 

Ralph was the one-of-a-kind voice of the Mets, linking baseball’s unparalleled history to New York’s new National League franchise since its very inception. To be successful, a broadcast crew also must be entertaining, and Kiner, with his folksy demeanor and frequently mixed metaphors, always natural, never forced, was certainly that. In a landscape of baseball jingoism dominated by former Yankee catcher Yogi Berra, Mets fans were never at a loss for Kiner-isms:

 

“Solo homers usually come with no one on base”

 

“All of his saves have come in relief appearances”

 

“If Casey Stengel were alive today, he’d be spinning in his grave.”

 

Kiner was known for his malaprops and took them in stride, often laughing about his own comments.

 

These fantastic Ralph Kiner handwritten notes offered here were written by him in preparation for his TV shows and used for prompting on the air. Topics include the NFL Players Association, Joe Namath and his fame, Veterans retiring free agency and spending, Jerry Koosman and the Cy Young award, and Babe Ruth. FIVE pages covered Babe Ruth and his legacy, coinciding with the passing of Babe's wife, Claire.

 

Kiner's notes include time stamps to the margins to ensure he met on the air timing points, and it even includes his salutations and exiting comments as he was going off the air for the day!  Aired in the mid-1970's, few artifacts exist from such an outspoken/insider personality, let alone a home run-hitting Hall of Famer! 



This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.



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