This lot is closed. Bidding ended on 5/11/2001.
In one of the most moving tributes ever seen in sports, the Los Angeles Dodgers held "Roy Campanella Night" on May 7, 1959 to honor the great Brooklyn Dodger catcher who was permanently disabled in an automobile accident in January 1958, only months before the team
began play on the west coast. Campanella, a Hall of Famer, became a beloved figure as the heart and soul of the "Boys of Summer," racking up three MVP awards and setting a then-record for a catcher with 41 home runs in 1953. His accident induced an outpouring of sympathy that reached a crescendo on this night before an exhibition game against the New York Yankees, when Campy was brought onto the field in a wheelchair before a darkened stadium lit only by candles held by thousands of fans in the crowd of 93,103 at the Los Angeles Coliseum. The 3-item lot includes a silver bowl that mounts on a wooden base with a silver ball that needs to be re-affixed. It was presented to Yankees pitcher Bobby Shantz, whose name is on a silver plaque on the base from the Los Angeles Herald Examiner thanking Shantz "for participating in the Yankee-Dodger Game." There is also a program for the occasion and a used ticket stub that has Campy's picture and the words "I was there the night they honored Campy." The bowl measures 5 ½" from base to top and 10" in diameter and is in good condition with scattered nicks and scratches, while the wood base is in excellent condition. The 8 ½" x 11" program features Campanella on the cover with the words "‘Campy' Souvenir Issue" and a facsimile Campanella signature. The program is in very good condition with some yellowing of the pages and tearing along the binding.